The Stag and The Doe
by touchtheskyx
Summary: A collection of oneshots about Lily and James.
1. Forks

**AN:** So basically this is just going to end up being a collection of one shots, all revolving around Lily and James and most of them starting from a really random word that I turned into a story. Any ideas, I'd love to hear em! Every rating will be different according to the story, but most of them will be K+ ish. The genre will also be different for all of them, but most of them will be romance or humor or both, even though some of them don't seem very romantic at all. Anyways, happy reading!

**Forks**

**Rating**: K+

"C'mon James, almost there..."

"You could help me, you know," James grunted from the landing above her. "You have alot of heavy shit."

"You offered to take the stuff that goes upstairs upstairs and I'd do the downstairs stuff. You're not going back on your word are you James Potter?"

"Of course not Lily dear," he said in a falsely sweet voice.

She smiled to herself as she pulled things out of boxes and arranged them in the living room, humming softly. She heard the banging of heavy boxes above her, the occasional pounding of feet up and down the stairs, and frequent grunts from James.

Delicately she laid out countless picture frames, some of them dusty, but she brushed them off. She stopped to look at each one of them, smiling and stroking the glass with her fingers.

Pictures of her family, Petunia exempt, smiled up at her. Since her eleventh birthday, Petunia had refused to be in any pictures with her sister. Her mum and dad grinned and waved, both wearing looks of interest that the picture being taken, they were told, would be able to move. Beside the photo she put a still picture of her and her sister, when Lily was ten. They were so happy... but her sister wasn't part of her life anymore.

She moved on, placing pictures all along the coffe table, the burreau. She stopped to look closely at a photo of 'the Marauders', all grinning devilishly at the camera as though they were plotting something. The photo was taken in their fourth year so, knowing them, they probably were. Sirius stood cooly, smiling his admittedly very sexy smile from the frame next to it, Remus in the next one, and a small picture of Peter in the one to the left. Finally she set down the last picture, one that had been taken only a week ago, of her and James grinning broadly at the camera. He was holding her hand tightly, and she remembered that that had been the moment he had asked her to move in with him.

She moved onto the little kitchen, bringing in boxes of cutlery and dishes, a mix of hers, James' and new ones.

"Are you sure..."

She counted out nineteen forks. Nineteen. That was alot of forks. She wondered why they had bought more when James' mum had given them more than enough forks for two people?

"...that you don't..."

Then again, was nineteen even enough?

"...want to help me? This desk is heavy."

She stopped counting cutlery and sat down on the floor, her back resting against the wall. She had just turned nineteen, in fact, they had just come back from her mother's house a few hours before from her birthday dinner. Then it had been straight to the little town of Godric's Hollow with the moving truck. James had complained about using a truck when they could just magic everything in, but Lily had insisted they put out a good first impression on their neighbors. Suddenly appearing with all their stuff wasn't, she told him, considered normal to muggles.

She hid her face in her hands. True, they had been going out for two years and he had more than proven his love for her. But she had a sudden, horrifying thought that maybe she wasn't ready to move in with him. Maybe nineteen wasn't enough after all.

"Lily?"

She felt familiar strong arms wrap around her, his breath on her neck, and before she knew it she was sobbing into his shoulder. He was stunned - all he could do was hold her, giving her a soft, comforing squeeze every once and awhile.

Finally he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away from him, looking into her watery emerald eyes, her tear-streaked face.

"Whats wrong?"

She closed her eyes and shook her head, rubbing her cheek with her hand. "We need more forks, James," she whispered.

"More forks?"

In any other situation the look of pure confusion on his face would have been funny. "We have nineteen forks, sweetheart, I'm sure thats enough. We could invite the whole order over and still have enough. Maybe it's the knives we should be worrying about?"

She gave him a very small, very watery smile.

"I don't know if I'm ready for this, James," she said quietly.

"Ready for what?" He looked concerned, by the look of the little wrinkle on his forehead. He squeezed her hand.

"This, everything. Were only nineteen, James! It's just such a huge step for me."

"It's a huge step for me too, Lily, but we'll pull through, we always do."

"What if we don't pull through sometime, though James. We can't keep evading things our whole lives, I can't live like that."

"We don't have to live like that Lily, not our whole lives. It won't always be like this."

"We're being chased by Voldemort every corner we turn, Dumbledore can't help us forever. The fact that we're both in the order, both living together, both so young... it scares me." Fresh tears brimmed in the corners of her eyes.

"Dumbledore has put protections on this house that you can't even imagine, Lily, did you know that?"

She shook her head. The supposed protections were quite new to her. Why hadn't he told her?

"He has put spells on this house that even Voldemort couldn't imagine. Let me ask you something, do you trust Sirius?"

Had he asked her that three years ago, Lily's immediate answer would have been 'no way in hell'. But since their seventh year, Lily would trust him with her life. She told him that, and he nodded reassuringly.

"Sirius is the only one who can betray our whereabouts. Our house is unplottable and invisible to anyone but us, Sirius, and anyone Sirius has told. Most of the order doesn't even know. For Voldemort to find us now, Sirius would have to tell him where we were, and you know he wouldn't do that."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?" She looked into his hazel eyes and he smiled sadly.

"I didn't want you to worry too much. If I had told you, would you not have been scared that the problem was worse than you thought?"

There was too much truth in his words for her to argue, so she said, "So you moved all that stuff up there by yourself when no one could see the house anyways?"

He nodded and she smiled.

"You did that for me?"

"I'd do anything for you, Lily Evans. Anything. I'd jump off a cliff for you."

"I would never ask you to do that," she said, affronted.

He laughed. "I know, sweetie, it was a figure or speech. But if you asked me to, I would be more than happy to oblige..."

She punched his arm. "Stop it!" she cried, laughing quietly.

"My point is, I love you more than anything Lily. You are my life. If anything happened to you, I would make sure I met the same fate. That way we would never be apart. If you could ever even question that..."

"I wasn't questioning it," she said quietly.

"I know, I know." He stuck his hand in his pocket as he often did when he was thinking, or nervous, or both. She thought nothing of it.

"I love you, James," she said suddenly.

"I love you too," he said, retracting his hand from his pocket. "Will you marry me?"

She was so shocked she couldn't even wrench open her mouth. She looked soundlessly at the ring in his hand, then at his unreadable face. If she expecting anything, it was not this, not on their moving day, not when they were only nineteen...

"Of course!" She had never been more sure of anything in her life. Never been more sure that that was absolutely the right thing to do. Marrying James Potter, she knew, would be the best thing for her.

He grinned, laughed, and pulled her into a tight hug that turned into a soft kiss. She smiled.

"Gee, thanks, now we have wedding plans to make on top of everything else!" she joked. He gave her a mock apologetic grin and shrugged.

"It won't be too hard. I know I can talk the Hogwarts elves into helping us out with the food. The guest list can only be a select few of course..."

"Because we'll have it here, right?"

He smiled. "Right. In the yard, it's big enough."

"Alice can help with decorations -"

"- and Sirius can help with... well, I actually don't know what he can help with, but he'll be the best man anyways."

"We can have the wonderful white wedding I've wanted since I was a girl."

"And maybe, if we're really lucky, you can keep the forks."

**AN**: Maybe you could tell I came up with this idea while I was eating lunch. Review, review, review, please and thanks, I'd love to hear your opinions and ideas!

Oh, and sorry Strange Magic. I decided to change this from stories about the Marauders to stories about Lily and James only. Sorry!


	2. Cherry Lipgloss

**AN: **This one's really short, couldn't have carried it on too long though. I'll try and throw in some long ones, but I love writing little short fluffy stories.

**Cherry Lipgloss **

**Rating**: K+

James sidled into the Great Hall for breakfast, Sirius, Remus and Peter with him. They all sat in their usual place in the center of the table and James helped himself to several pieces of toast, bacon, sausages and a couple eggs. It was Saturday, he was in no hurry. As he bit into a bit of toast he looked down the table.

Lily Evans helped herself to some cereal and ate it slowly, talking to her friend across the table. Her red hair shimmered wonderfully - it was a sunny day.

"Hogsmeade later, what do you reckon, Zonko's first?" asked Sirius.

She had a little clip in her hair. It resembled a flower, a lilly by the looks of that. He wondered, had she done that on purpose. It, like her hair, glistened in the sunlight.

"Mmmhm, sure," he said absently.

Her eyes sparkled as she laughed at something her friend had said. Beautiful emerald green eyes that lit up her whole face. She was hardly wearing any makeup on them, which, he thought, was okay. She was too beautiful to cake on make up as many girls did.

"Or maybe we should pay a visit to the shrieking shack..."

"I'm sick of that place, Sirius..."

Her nose was the most perfect nose he had ever seen. Strange, he sometimes thought, that he could be so attracted to a nose. But it was so cute with little freckles...

"Right you are, Moony...

"What about the apothecary? I'm out of bat spleen..."

... and it led right down to her soft, laughing lips.

"James? What do you think..."

"Whatever," he mumbled.

Her soft, laughing lips that were covered in lipgloss, the only makeup she seemed to be wearing. How, he wondered, did it stay on while she ate?

"Whatever?"

"Mmhm."

It was a miracle, he had always thought, how girls' lipgloss stayed on through so much. You'd think that something like kissing would wipe it clean off, but it stayed on. Well, atleast for James anyways. Maybe he just picked girls with good lipgloss. Or was it permanent?

"Okay... how 'bout honeydukes then, everyone likes honeydukes."

Not that he had kissed many girls. He'd always had his eyes set on one, but he had to fill his needs somehow. He had, however, had enough girls to know that lipgloss was always flavored. What flavor was hers?

"Sure, honeydukes, fine," James said automatically.

It was light pink and sparkly... so maybe strawberry?

"Good, I need some more sugar quills."

"You'd think the teachers would have caught on by now."

"No kidding, kids don't chew feathers often do they? No one in their right mind could think that."

"Teachers aren't in their right mind, they're teachers."

Then again, there had been a girl with pink lipgloss once and it was grape... confusing, why weren't her lips purple? Maybe Lily's was blueberry or something weird like that. She certainly wouldn't go around with blue lips, he was sure.

"Moony, when's the next full one?"

"Sirius, shh!"

"Just wondering about you're hairy little problem, I need to book my nights around it."

Cherry was his favorite though. Cherry pie, cherry icecream... cherry lipgloss would be so perfect on such a perfect girl.

"It's tonight, if you must know, hope you're not overbooked."

Then again, she could be a peach girl. Or orange. Orange? Weird lipgloss flavor, but he had always thought banana would be weird and he'd tried one of those kind of girls...

"Prongsy, hello? Earth to James?"

Sirius waved his arm wildly in his face. James looked at him just as Lily got up from the table and left the Hall.

"Gotta go do something," he said, and got up. He had hardly touched his breakfast.

He hurried out of the Hall and looked around. He dashed up the closest staircase and saw what he was looking for. He ran down the hall, grabbed her, spun her around and kissed her. It didn't last long, just a quick, soft kiss. He smiled.

"Cherry," he said, and walked away.


	3. 10 Things

**AN**: Cliche, I know, but still cute, I hope. If you guys give me a random word I'll try and turn it into a story, because I love doing that and your ideas would be great.

**10 Things**

**Rating**: K

"James Potter, let go of me!"

Lily kicked her legs wildly in the air - James had thrown her over his shoulder and was parading her around the common room.

"Let go! We're going to be late for patrol..." She kicked harder and hit him in the small of the back. He groaned and set her down.

"The prefects have got it covered for a while longer," he said. She eyed him angrily. They had to have the lastest shift. And her friends had to say the were 'tired'. Why did everyone want her and James together except for her?

Lily ignored him and looked, instead into the fire.

"I love you," he said.

"I hate you," she replied.

"Why?"

Why?

He had never asked her that before.

"Umm..."

"Ten reasons."

"What?"

"Name ten reasons why you hate me," he said. He was looking at her, unblinkingly.

"Er... fine, easy," she said, trying to sound more confident than she felt. "But then... you have to name ten reasons why you love me so much."

She made it sound like a challenge, a simple game, but she really did want to know... why her?

"Piece of cake," he said, smiling. "You first."

"I hate the way you mess up your hair on purpose to look like you were just flying. You have messy hair all the time anyways, why make it any messier? It just makes you look like an ass."

"Fair enough," he said. "I love your eyes."

He made it seem to easy.

"I hate how you jinx people in the hallways for fun, just because you can."

"They ask for it," he said, shrugging. "I love your hair."

"You're just going to comment on my looks the whole time, aren't you?"

"Nope, promise."

She sighed. "Fine. I hate how you strut around the school like you own it."

The more she thought about it, he practically did own the school. Head Boy, Quidditch Captain, and all the girls were after him. Except her, of course.

"I love your laugh," he said simply.

"I hate how you make this seem so easy."

"That doesn't count."

"Why not?" she protested. "It's fair."

"Fine then, I love the way you bite your lip when you think."

"I hate the way you put your feet on the table, people have to eat and do their homework there, it's disgusting."

He smiled and brought his feet down from the coffee table and put them on the floor.

"I love the way you bring out the best in people."

"I hate the way it's not working on you."

The smile hadn't left his face.

"I love your sarcastic humor."

She bit her lip. This was getting harder.

"I hate your smile."

She said before she thought about it. She wished she hadn't.

"My smile, why?"

The truth was, she hated it because she loved it. She had been thinking about it, but didn't mean to say it out loud...

"Nevermind, the game wasn't to explain why. It's your turn."

"I love your smile."

"Too easy, you copied mine."

"You built off of my 'bringing out the best' one. Same thing."

"Not really."

"You're stalling."

"Am not, I hate... I hate how confident you are that everyone loves you."

"I'm not confident that everyone loves me, you don't."

"It goes along with the strutting like yo own the place thing."

"Then that's not a fair one."

"Is so. Just go, you're the one stalling now. Go."

"Stalling? Nah, this is too easy for stalling. I love how you always look out for others first, before yourself."

"When have I ever looked out for you?"

"You helped me with my homework once."

"I did not."

"You leant me your notes."

"I leant Sirius my notes."

"And Sirius leant me your notes. See? Always thinking of others you are."

She rolled her eyes.

"I never got those notes back, you know."

"Do you need them?"

"Well yes, I'm assuming there'll be something on cheering charms in our NEWTs."

"You're stalling again."

"Why would I be stalling, this is easy."

"Oh yeah? Number nine then."

She chewed on her lip, thinking hard. Why was this so hard for her?

"I hate the way you always stare at me."

"I love the way you glare at me when I stare at you."

"That's about my eyes, you already used one about my eyes, you can't do it again."

"This one was different though, it was about where your eyes were looking, not your eyes in general."

She was surprised. She found it so hard to find things she haed about him. Her statements were getting lamer and lamer, and by the way he was looking at her she knew he knew how hard it was getting for her. She was desperate not to give him the satisfaction of winning this game...

"We should get going, I think it's past time."

"We have a game to settle, Lily, and I'm not letting you leave until we finish."

"You can't stop me from leaving, James," she said and made to stand up. She had barely moved however when James came over and sat on her lap.

"You're heavy," she choked. "Get off."

"Not until we finish this," he said.

"When did this become so important to you?"

"When did you start calling me James."

Damn.

"I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"No, I didn't."

The argument was futile.

"Yes you did, when you said 'you can't stop me from leaving, James'."

"You memorize what I say?"

"Only when I like what I hear."

She took a deep breath and said slowly, "I hate... I hate how I don't hate you anymore."

His face broke into a grin.

"I love to hear you say that."

**AN**: Review, review, review! Thanks.


	4. Duck

**AN**: Hermione09Weasley, here's your 'ducks'. If you have anymore words for me, that'd be great because this one was fun to write as random as the topic was. I know you're reading it guys, I've got lots of hits and lots of alerts, but please **review**! If you've already read it, why not **tell me what you think**?

Thanks guys.

**Ducks**

**Rating:** K+

"Silencing charms today, class!" tiny professor Flitwik squeaked. "I've already put you in partners seeing as we don't have enough animals to go around... I hope you all remember the wand movement I showed you yesterday!"

The class half heartedly waved their wands to mimick his. "Excellent, excellent, now, repeat after me, silencio!"

"Silencio," muttered about half the class. The rest seemed to think it was a waste of breath. 'The rest' including James Potter and Sirius Black who, in the back desks, were leaning back with their feet up, discussing the nights plans in whispers.

"Now go find your partner when I call your name, and I will hand out the animals..."

"I might go into Hogsmeade for a bit, Prongs, while you're in the shack. There's a little old lady down the way who has become quite partial to me... she always gives me bits of meat and firewhiskey."

"Why do you have to be the cute and cuddley dog! Nobody wants a bloody stag on their front porch."

"Better off than Pete... everyone keeps leaving out rat traps poor fellow."

"And even he's better off than Moony I suppose, how d'you reckon that little old lady would react to a werewolf on her door step?"

Sirius laughed his loud, barking laugh.

"Mr Black and Mrs Johnstone, over here please..."

"Damn," Sirius murmured. "The way she works so bloody hard, she's almost as bad as..."

"Lily Evans, and James Potter.. at the back, if you please dear, very good."

James gave Sirius an exaggerated wink and leaned back further, ruffling his hair in a very arrogant, very cocky manner. Lily stormed to the back of the classroom and sat down reluctantly beside him, though a good distance away as though he might try and kiss her at any second.

Which wasn't exactly far-fetched either.

"Lucky, huh?"

"Whats lucky?" Lily said snappily, her frustration at being paired with the one person she would have begged not to have was very apparent.

"That we're paired together," he beamed. "You can do all the work and I can watch you." He looked her in the eye at first, then she distinctively saw his gaze move down to her lips then continuously lower...

"You're a prat, Potter," she murmered as Professor Flitwik came around with the animals. He could barely peek over the desk, so Lily had to help him heave the creature.

"A duck?" James said skeptically. He looked around... all the other students had much nosier looking animals - bullfrogs, sparrows (which they had to stick down to their desks with a sticking charm or else they would simply fly out the window) and a few screech owls. "Duck's don't even make that much noise."

Quack.

"I wouldn't say that..."

Quack. Quack. Quack.

"This is a bloody noisy duck," James said, raising his eyebrows at it. It looked at him and tried to nibble off his sleeve when he came close.

Quack.

"A bloody annoying duck more like," Lily said, pulling out her wand. "Now who does that remind you of?" She shot a very pointed look at James, but he didn't seem to understand its meaning because he just continued to stare at her.

Quack.

"Could you just shut this thing up?"

"Could you shut up?"

"No. By the way, Hogsmeade weekend next week..."

"No, Potter."

"You didn't even let me finish. How do you even know..."

"That you were going to ask me out?" she said exasperatedly. "Oh, I don't know, just a hunch."

"C'mon, Evans..."

"No!"

"Please..."

Quack.

"No way, Potter."

Quack.

"You know you want to..."

"Do you really think that my answer will be any different if you ask me more than once?"

"Maybe."

Quack.

He caught her withering look.

"No, but it's always good to try..."

"Not in this case..."

"You know what else is good to try?"

"Oh god, please don't say it again..."

Quack.

"It would be good to try a silencing charm right about now, before I strangle this duck with my own two hands."

Quack. The duck snapped at him again, this time catching his robes and pulling.

"Get it off me!"

But Lily just sat and watched, a smug amused look painted on her face. The duck kept pulling and pulling until it tore a chunk off the front.

"Thanks for your help," James said. "You enjoyed that didn't you?"

"Oh yeah," she said smiling.

"I don't see why that's so amusing, really."

Quack.

She kept smiling. "You're alot like that duck, you know," she told him. He frowned.

"What, in that I'm feathery and smelly?"

Quack. Quack.

"No," she laughed. "In that you're stubborn, annoying and you never shut up. Maybe the smelly part too, but I think that's because you always have your feet up on the desk."

"At least I don't have feathers..."

"Good thing."

He raised an eyebrow in what he was trying to turn into a seductive look. "Maybe you like the duck-ish type."

"Proud, stubborn and noisy? No, not my type."

Quack.

"What if I told you that you were like the duck?"

"How so?"

"Well, you're also stubborn, you have a temper, and," he looked at the duck who was glaring at him with its beady little eyes, "you seem to feel the need to tear me apart."

"Great, so now we're both ducks?"

"Guess so. And ducks go well with ducks, and ducks like Hogsmead so..."

Quack.

"JUST SHUT THAT BLOODY BIRD UP!"

Everyone looked back at James who had finally cracked. The duck gave one last feeble 'quack' and James said "Finall-"

"Silencio!"

The duck glared at James and opened its mouth soundlessly. James glared at Lily and opened his mouth... soundlessly.

She smiled at him, picked up her books and her bag, and left, just as the bell rang, a silenced James following her, disgruntled.


	5. Distraction

**Distraction**

**Rating**: T

Um, excuse me, Miss Evans, you're blocking my view, not that there's anything to see but Professor Binns sitting on his stool and droning on and on and on...

No, exams in a week, listening would probably be a good idea seeing as the shininess of red hair is obscuring my view of the notes of the owner of said hair. Copying them is usually my routine, but goddamn you Lily Evans... you're messing with my routine. Incase you didn't get the memo, you're supposed to be sitting beside me, not infront.

"Wolfric the Weird was the first of many to discover the mines which we now call Gringotts..."

Yeah, yeah. Wolfric the Weird, discover, Gringotts, strawberry shampoo...

Bloody hell, why couldn't you smell like the loo or something?

Every time you shake your head, cocked it to the side to get a better angle on your writing, or simply lean back to listen there is this beautiful smell shooting straight up my nostrils. I have sensitive nostrils you know, and when something so wonderful comes close they like to take it in.

But now, when I'm taking notes that my whole future could depend on, the notes that I need to pass my NEWTs, now is not a good time for a good smell.

When my dreams of become an Auror come to a screeching halt after this exam, Lily Evans I will be coming to find you, and I will pour all this goddamn shampoo down the drain.

"...there was a rebellion that lasted decades over what to do with all this new gold and who should mine it. Wolfric headed the battles before he was killed in 1021 and was replaced by..."

Excellent, yes, leave your hair on that side of your shoulder. Thats about seven inches less hair to create aroma. All that there is left to look at is your back now, and I thought you were so smart trying to distract me from my work... trying to punish me. Thats what you're trying to do, and it's not working, just so you know, because now there is nothing left to tear my focus away from Gindel the Great and his expedition to the mountains of Spain.

Nothing except, oh, help me god, the appearance of your black bra showing through your white shirt.

Why oh why do you have to be so cruel?

I think you want me to fail all my classes, that way you'll be able to move on without me and stupid, easily distracted James Potter will be left behind to redo seventh year.

Shut up, you, you're clouding my mind.

Maybe I should move. Not that I really want to but...

Damn, no more seats except for that one by Jennifer and she really does smell like a loo...

Must. Focus.

Put your hair back where I can't smell it.

Atleast look at anything but that hair...

Those ankles, bare ankles leading up to calves, leading up to thighs, leading upto that short, short skirt...

Maybe I should just take it off. Take off the skirt, take off the shirt, then there would be nothing left to distract me, right?

Nothing indeed, except for your now half naked body and that hair...

Lily Evans, take of your shirt, take of your skirt, and shave your head, or let me do it for you.

The bell sounded. There goes my History of Magic exam. I've managed to take one note, two words, neither of those two words pretaining to History of Magic whatsoever.

_Lily Evans, _decorated with little hearts.

I'm doomed.


	6. Water

**AN:** OpenSoulSurgery, you gave me water as a word so here it is. I don't know how it's going to turn out yet, I have no clue what I'm going to write about but it'll unfold as I go. Thanks for reviewing guys and keep in doing it :)

**Water Torture**

**Rating:** K+

"You know what today is, don't you Evans?"

"No, Potter, and I don't care at all if it's something you're interested in."

"It's our six year anniversary to the first time I asked you out, do you remember?"

The train sped along, scenery flashing by, dark clouds rolling overhead... all the same conditions as her first year train ride, complete with James and Sirius who had decided that, since she was sitting alone, they would have to keep her company. She hoped Remus would get there soon, as he was reasonable and could maybe get Black and Potter out of her compartment that she was saving for her friend Mary MacDonald, who hadn't shown up yet.

"How could I forget the beginning of my doomed life, Potter?"

"That hurts," James said sarcastically.

"You really should take care to mind little James' feelings," Sirius said in mock earnest. "Everytime you insult him it cuts so deep... he spends the night sobbing into his pillow, his internal wounds filling his body with blood..."

"You're pleasant."

"I know, I'm gifted that way."

The compartment door slid open and, to Lily's relief, Remus came in and sat down beside her, facing his two friends. A little behind him came Peter, puffing as he pulled his hauled his trunk up onto the baggage rack.

"Have you seen Mary?" she asked him. He grinned awkwardly and nodded.

"She was off in a compartment with some Ravenclaw bloke.. I couldn't tell whose limbs were whose if you catch my meaning..."

Lily rolled her eyes but James looked shocked. "Mary? I never would have thought..."

"Her clothes were on, moron."

"Ohh... see now Lily, that's the kind of company you keep. Don't you think you would be better off friends with us? More than friends with me? Friends with benefits if you like, that way you can have the lovin' but keep your James-free reputation..."

"I'd quit now while you're ahead, Prongs," Remus said.

"Dunno what you're talking about... he never was ahead."

"Lily's winning the race I think."

"By a long shot. She's close to the finish line actually... you're gonna have to catch up to score..."

"Go out with me, Evans?"

"No."

"Damn, bad luck Prongs, she's crossed the line leaving you in the dust. Next race starts in five minutes..."

"Could you stop talking in bloody metaphors!" Lily burst out, looking from James to Sirius who were both starting to laugh infuriatingly at her frustration.

"'fraid not love, my life is a bloody metaphor," Sirius told her. She looked at Remus for help, but he shrugged.

"You get used to it," he said. She groaned. She didn't want to have to get used to it!

"Yeah, Pete and Moony have, right Pete?"

Peter nodded his affirmation, still not having spoken a word. Quiet kid.

"There's a Hogsmeade weekend next weekend already, wanna come?"

"For God's sake, Potter, no! I think that's a record two in a space of less than five minutes! Do you not live for any other reason than to make sad attempts to get me?"

"Get you where?" he said, raising his eyebrows seductively.

She goaned and closed her eyes.

_Drip._

It had started to rain lightly outside, droplets sprinkling from the dark clouds that seemed to envelope the train in gloom. Apparently, the four boy she had somehow managed to land a compartment with, didn't feel the same gloom, and Lily started to think maybe her depression had less to do with the weather and more to do with her situation.

_Drip._

"Why do you hate me so much, Evans?"

"Well, for one, you call me Evans. My name is Lily."

"And you call me Potter. We're even. Are there more?"

"Of course, but do you really need me to name them all?" All four of the boys nodded, Sirius wearing a growing, eager smile, Remus grinning apologetically and Peter, still saying nothing. James looked at her, a challenging glint in his eyes. "Alright then. You're arrogant. You're cocky. You do that stupid thing with your hair. You jinx people for fun. You're horrible to the Slytherins, not that they don't deserve it, but really you shouldn't sink to their level. You ask me out at least four times a week if not more. You copy my notes, or steal them if I won't let you copy. My classes are inturrupted by flying bits of paper with various love notes. And you have this stupid smile that makes you look like you own the place."

"My, Lily, you really should get your frustration out more."

"Yeah, its bad to bottle up your emotions like that. Eventually the bottle will get to full, explode, and shards of glass will be strewn everywhere, sparkling on the ground for innocent people to step on," Sirius said.

"And I suppose your bottle is near empty?" James asked.

_Drip. Drop. Drip._

"Naturally," Sirius said. Remus shook his head and rolled his eyes at Lily, who looked at him and sighed exasperatedly. "You're a smart cookie, James, you know me well."

"Well enough to know you make out with your pillow at night if you don't have someone with you already..."

"You know me too well. That just cost you half of your smart cookie, mister."

Always with the metaphors.

Lily turned her attention back outside, the rain still falling slowly and steadily.

_Drip._

The rain seemed to fall agonizingly slow, something like the train ride. She watched the drops fall onto the window sill, the water hitting the pane and exploding everywhere, somewhat like she felt she would do if she had to listen to anymore of Black's metaphors.

The rain continued to fall, counting away the minutes, dragging them out.

_Drop. Drop. Drip._

As Sirius launched into another metaphor-style statement, Lily thought with a stab of irony that the rain was rather like Chinese Water Torture, never ending, each drop penetrating her like the glass from her broken bottle...

She thought that Chinese Water Torture would be a small price to pay to get rid of all the metaphors that they had now gotten lodged in her brain.

_Drip._

"You're like a broken record, Prongsy..."

_Cut the torture. Kill me now._

_---_

**AN:** Well there you go, hopefully it turned out okay. It didn't end up being just water, but water torture so I decided to make the title that. R&R guys, and I'd still love your ideas! **To Do List: **bushes (ooh... got an idea for that one already)


	7. Bushes

**AN:** Sorry if this ones a teensy bit weird... I wanted to try something different so I hope it worked out okay!

**Bushes**

**Rating:** T

If one had heard the rustling coming from the bushes in the Hogwarts grounds, one would have thought, most likely, of an insect or small bird. Perhaps, as the rustling grew louder and it was apparent that no bird or insect could make such a noise, one's mind might jump next to animals. Small animals perhaps, bunnies, badgers or racoons.

As the rustling grew louder still, one who happned to be walking by might assume a larger animal next, maybe a house elf doing the pruning. Pruning, however, was usually done during the day when it was quite a bit lighter, and not in the dark, and n this particular instance, the bush would be quite too small for a deer or animal so large as that, so the conclusion must be drawn that the bushes are, in fact, concealing a person, or maybe, people (as in the plural).

So if one had heard such rustlings, concluded that it must be a person or even the plural, they might be a bit curious as to what that person (people) were doing in the bush. With such rustlings one would likely assume that the person is not alone, because, after all, who wanders outside by themselves, at night, and sits in a bush forcing it to move?

Perhaps the same type of person that would go wandering at night and wonder about people in bushes, but that is for another time.

If such a person were out wandering, whether by themselves or with, perhaps, a companion, it would likely be a clear night, which in that instant it was. Perfect, still air that seemed to cling to every star, making them shine ever brighter. The moon seemed the biggest star of all, casting more light, almost, than the apparent lit wand-tip that trembled in the branches of the small bush, a rather branchy and leafy growth. Not, one would say, the most comfortable bush to be sitting very close to, maybe slightly in.

And so one would assume that if there were people and they were in or close to a bush with a wand lit on a perfect night, that those people might be doing something rather more than simply talking. Which, had one been walking by, would have been clear as there were no words coming from the trembling bush.

There were, however, a few male groans every once and awhile, which might lead one to believe that the male in question was being injured or tortured, otherwise snogged breathless by the other person which, it has been clarified, was obviously there.

This of course leads to the question of why there are no female moans of what is seeming much like pleasure. One would think, maybe hope, that there is a girl in the bushes with the groaning man, but there is always the possiblity of, not a girl, but another man.

No. A female groan cuts into the male one, but this one is softer, gentler. The bush trembled more violently, causing a few leaves to fall and a few more to desperately hold on for dear life.

The next conclusion that one walking along on such a night might want to come to would be who specifically is in the bush, considering it is already confirmed that there is a male, a female, a wand light and a perfect night involved.

Remus Lupin was to be automatically ruled out, having had as much action in the two years preceding as one Sirius Black had had in the preceding two weeks, a statistic the latter was quite proud of. Peter Pettigrew wasn't even a candidate, and yet saying so would bring one no closer to guessing who the bush held. Then, of course, there was James Potter. James Potter wasn't to be yet ruled out, however it seemed unlikely that he would be in a bush snogging a girl, when most of the school was aware that James would snog no girl but the apple of his eye, one, Lily Evans, soon to be, as James often would say, Lily Potter. Sirius Black would say it was impossible. Speaking of, Sirius Black would likely be the first name to pop into ones head at one such a moment, but that was quite impossble also, considering Sirius Black was the one now approaching the bush on the perfect night, aware of his invasion of privacy, curious as to what was causing the poor bush to lose so many leaves.

One such person, as we now know to have a name, could finally hold in no longer the desire to discover the secret of the bush. So one such person, Sirius Black, pulled back the top branches of the bush to peer over, unable to hold in his cry of shock and astonishment.

Lily Evans sat up on a James Potter who was in much need of a comb to stare at the person having uttered the cry, and shot him a furious, embarassed sort of look.

"I was curious as to who was killing the bush on such a perfect night," Sirius said simply, then left the scene, satisfied in knowing that the bush didn't, as he had long since concluded, shelter a bunny or a badger.

**AN:** so basically, pointless fluff, but I like it. It's weird and different from the others. It has alot of run on sentances and a lot of repeated themes, but I hope you liked it and I hope it wasn't too confusing. 'Bushes' was an idea from _ChrissyWhissy_, thanks, I hope it worked out well. Love you all!


	8. Papercut

**Papercut**

**Rating:** K+/T (language etc.)

_Will you go out with me?_ read the note that James Potter scribbled on a spare bit of parchment. He had decorated it with little hearts, one of the hearts reading LE+JP in the center. James always thought he was lucky that nobody started calling him JP... he knew it was a common abbreviation for anyone with the letters J and P in their name, but James thought it annoying. It was better off, perhaps, that noone called him that, because he would have hexed them and they would have been none the wiser.

He finished up the tip of the last heart and went to fold the note when his finger sliced open on the side of the fold, droplets of blood beading at the surface of the wound. He let out a little gasp. The kind of gasp where it doesn't hurt, but you're a bit shocked by the quickness and stunned by the amount of blood such a small body part can hold.

"Alas, the romantic knight is maimed," Sirius whispered dramatically.

"Alas," James retaliated, "The court jester is about to have off his head."

Professor Binns didn't seem to notice them talking, he simply droned on. James wondered why he bothered passing notes when he could easily ask her out verbally, she was sitting quite close to him (it had to be that way or he wouldn't be able to properly copy her notes). But note passing seemed to dramatize the whole we're-in-a-classrom-and-trying-to-pull-off-a-romance-without-getting-caught feeling. Of course, the romantic feelings were throuroughly one-sided.

James sucked on his finger as he balled up the note with his other hand and threw it with the force of a toned, muscly, quidditch arm, right at Lily Evans' head.

She shot him a dirty look, for it was only two obvious who the note was from, then she picked it up and read it. Another dirty look, but she scribbled a reply and threw it back.

He opened it up... it was covered in little hearts and his heart leapt. Maybe his injury hadn't been in vain... he flipped it over and in huge letters, the point of the exclamation mark dotted in yet another heart: _NO!_

He sighed.

"Tough luck, mate," Sirius said. "Maybe she likes her men whole and unscathed... I think it was the papercut that did you in."

"Shove it up your ass," James murmered.

"Love you too," Sirius replied, resuming his usual laid-back position.

James grumbled and pulled out another bit of parchment, this one bigger. Maybe if he wrote her a whole fucking novel...

_Lily, my love. I watch you as though you are as far away as the other side of the lake, and yet here you are in front of me. Your hair glistens and your eyes twinkle as you turn to me to express your deep and burning desire to be with me. I love the way your nose wrinkles and your delicate brow furrows everytime you look at me. Every minute that goes by I think of you, and you with me. I injured myself in the process of writing to you, now it is in my hopes that you will take that as a sign for how much a care for you. Now, Lily, darling, will you go out with me?_

He threw the slightly bigger ball at her, hitting her square on the head. She shot him a look dirtier than the first but all the same picked it up and read it. She smiled at him, but he couldn't tell whether the smile was sincere or a hint of mock-sweetness. Once again she wrote him another note, not, as he hoped, nearly as long as his. She threw it back, grinning now with a beautiful, silent laughter. He crossed his fingers, sure of the 'yes' that would be written on that very piece of paper, sure that the smiling Lily must mean she had come to her senses...

_Potter, you arse. By 'injured' do you mean that papercut?_

_PS: NO!_

Ouch. How a two letter word could cut deeper than the still pulsating wound, James couldn't figure out.

---

**AN:** Another short one. Idea thanks to Stormfur's Sweetie.

I think we'll have a little vote as to which story I'll write up next. Plus if you've got any more ideas I'd still like to hear them. Here's the ideas you've given me...

**Shackles **(possibly very dirty, possibly just metaphorical.. i think i'm going to keep the rating down at a T though...)

**Tea** (a discussion over tea between Lily and James, Lily and Severus, Lily and Sirius or Lily and Remus... if you vote for this one help me with who should be in it!)

**Snakes** (to do more with Slytherins than snakes)

**Bubblegum** (dunno what it would be about, but it would be cute)

**Bunny** (see "bubblegum" explanation)

**Necklace** (this could be a sweet, sappy sort of fluffy fic)

Plus a few of my own...

**Cravings** (how Lily and turkey can be related... hehe)

**Lillies** (as in the flower, both are related however...)

**Yule Log** (would be a warm, fuzzy christmas ficlet)

Alright guys, tell me what you think I should write next (I'll get to all of them eventually, but I really can't decide!)

Thanks a ton (for everything, including reading this too-long authors note). I just wanna say a special little thanks to Hermione09Weasley and sarena678 who've reviewed basically every chapter. Plus to SJZuhlsdorf for the four consecutive reviews. I love how you've taken the time to review every one instead of one big review. Makes me feel special haha, so thanks!

Much love, touchtheskyx

(**PS** you guys are AMAZING! I've got too many ideas to count, but it's great, keep it up! Lotsa love to all you who've been reviewing all though!)


	9. Bubblegum

**AN:** Lady-of-the-Ravens I love you to death for breaking my writers block. Thanks tons for the idea. 'Bubblegum' was originally an idea from Stormfur's Sweetie though, but Lady-of-the-Ravens was the icing on the cake :) Oh, by the way, this is a speech-only fic. Everytime I start a new line it's the other person talking. Starting with Lily, obviously.

**IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ:** I'm going to put this on a bit of a hold. I want to have this as a side project to go on but I ultimately want to be starting a more serious fic, one with a real plot and a real outline. I just put that one up, so check it out. Basically it has to do with the Marauders and the first wizarding world, but I don't want to give too much away! So, in other words, this might be my last chapter for awhile (not forever though, don't worry).

**Bubblegum**

**Rating:** K+/T

"Pull harder James!"

"It's stuck! Unless you want me to pull all your hair out in the process..."

"Your wand then, use your wand."

"What, you mean the wand McGongall took away from me because I was dueling with Sirius in the hall... what about..."

"... the one she took away from me because I was trying to stop you?"

"Damn."

"Why were you dueling anyways?"

"Not real duel. Just little spells and stuff... we have a bit of a bet going, see, Remus is on my side but Pete reckons Sirius is trickier..."

"Look, I don't really want to know why you guys were pretending to attack eachother."

"You asked."

"I'm sorry if I'm a little bit touchy because you ruined my hair forever. My apologies."

"So what, now it's my fault that my bubble blowing skills are so intense that my bubble was unnaturally large and happened to touch your gorgeous locks?"

"My gorgeous fucking locks? How gorgeous will they be once you have to jinx gum out of them?"

"You were sitting on my lap. Not my fault my gum was itching to get out of my mouth..."

"Then blow it in Sirius' mouth or something, not in my hair!"

"Always with the gay jokes."

"Sorry."

"You're not."

"You're right."

"Do you have something against gay people Lily Evans?"

"Not at all, in fact I was thinking about joining them. If I had a girlfriend I'm sure she'd think not to blow a humungous bubble while I was sitting on her lap..."

"Just the thought of you sitting on someone's lap but mine makes my heart melt. The fact that that person is a girl makes it harden again but instead of hardening in a heart shape its more of a mutulated beef patty."

"Like when a candle melts and then hardens and its deformed."

"Exactly."

"Kinda like my hair is going to look once we get this bloody gum out of it."

"Yes, something like that."

"James!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry. No, I don't want your hair to look like melted candle wax or a mutulated beef patty."

"James!"

"Look... I'm going to fix this, don't worry."

"You better."

"Look... I'm going to go get scissors..."

"Look... no you're not, and stop saying 'look' so much it's driving me nuts."

"Look... last time, promise... scissors is the only thing that'll do it aside from magic, which will probably mutilate it more than scissors would. I always thought of a career as a hair dresser, I could give you a whole new look."

"I'd rather have Sirius cut my hair than you."

"I can arrange that..."

"NO!"

"All I'd have to do is cut this bit off... oh and this bit..."

"James!"

"I love the way my name sounds when you say it."

"JAMES."

"I love the way you say it when you're angry even more."

"Potter..."

"Not back to this..."

"Back to what?"

"Calling me Potter. Oh, and this part here... it's a little pink..."

"Not back to this..."

"Back to what?"

"Telling me what pieces of my hair you're going to cut off."

"Not back to this..."

"Back to what?"

"Saying 'not back to this' and 'back to what' repeatedly. It's driving me nuts."

"Unless you can grow me a new head of hair after you hack mine off, I don't give a rat's ass what drive's you nuts."

"Grow a... hold on, the brilliant James Potter has and idea that nearly matches his own brilliance."

"Talk in third person and die."

"Like I'm not already dead in your books?"

---

"Okay, close your eyes, it'll be done soon."

"What will be done?"

"Just close your eyes."

"Okay..."

"Wait what?"

"I decided to trust you and then if you screw up I'll spare you're life but hack your man parts off."

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

"I... oh just get on with it."

"Okay... this part can come off... and this part... and oh, here's some..."

"God you're scaring me."

"Good. Sit still..."

"Is there a reason you're pouring warm goop on my head?"

"Yes."

"It's not a joke and you just wanted to get more tangled in my hair?"

"No."

"Alright... it's your package on the line..."

"It'll be fine."

"For your own good...

"... and yours..."

"...you better hope so."

"Done."

"Should I be scared?"

"Not unless you're scared of your own reflection..."

"How the hell did you manage that Potter? It looks... normal."

"Scissors and hair growth cream, Slughorn lent it to me when I said you needed it... he loves you. We should report him for being a pedafile."

"No need, James, cause I've got you to protect me."

---

"You put hair growth cream in my clothes."

"Why do you accuse me automatically?"

"Because, Lily love, the bottle smells like the lovely perfume you always wear."

"You noticed that?"

"Of course."

"Awe, you're sweet."

"Do you think that flattering me is really going to make me forget that I now look like a gorilla and I'm going to have to go ask Madame Pomfrey to de-hair me? How awkward is that, especailly considering you put it in my pants too..."

"..."

"Giggling sweetly is going to do nothing for you, sweetheart."

"It's only payback for everything you put me through... the gum, the torture..."

"No guilt trips, Lily. Puppy dog eyes and sweet flattery will do nothing to save you from the tickle monster."

"Oh no, not the tickle monster..."

"Oh yes, he's back, and hairy, too."

---

**AN:** Hehe. I liked writing that one. Keep review guys, I love it, and at the same time give me a vote. But not just a vote, because I need to hear your opinions too. Here's how it's standing...

**Chocolate Frogs** 0

**Shackles** 2

**Tea** 1 (James & Lily) 2 (Sirius & Lily - I vote for this one :))

**Snakes** 0

**Necklace **3

**Cravings** 1

**Lillies** 1

**Yule Log** (im taking this one off the voting - i'll stick it up closer to christmas! If I start to get these done faster than christmas I'll do it then... sorry Hermione09Weasley, have another vote:))

Keep voting guys, it's great. Too many ideas I don't know what to do with them all!

Love love love, touchtheskyx


	10. Monopoly

**AN:** Wow I am so lame. I know I said I was gone, blah blah blah, but I came back on here to check some things and I see these 'I hate you's and people wailing and... what can I say I crack under pressure? So here's the deal: I will update sometimes, but it might only be on weekends. I think what I'll do is write a whole bunch now (forgive me if their short) and post them at random when I have time. Please don't get after me for not updating... I will try. Don't hate me forever, please. :)

Sorry guys, love yah lots  
touchtheskyx

**Monopoly**

**Rating:** K+

"I am so fucking bored that I would rather jump out that window to meet my death below than sit here a minute longer."

"No you wouldn't Padfoot, you love yourself too much," James pointed out.

"Nah... they love me too much," Sirius replied, nodding over to a group of girls that looked over, alarmed, at the mention of his death. "'t's okay, I'm not going to die," he added to them, flashing his winning smile. Remus groaned and James hit himself on the head with the nearest pillow.

"Hi guys," Mary MacDonald said cheerfully, sitting down on the couch between Remus and James and setting a box on the table. James' expression brightened and his eyes widened as Lily sat across from them on the other side of the table.

"You can sit here too Evans..." he said, hastily trying to make room but only succeeding in pusing Remus off the end. "Oops... sorry Moony."

"No, it's okay, I'm cool on the floor. Get up Remus I'm not kicking you off..." she smiled at him. James always hated how Remus got the smile and he got the death stare. All in good time, he supposed.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked without much interest. The girls were setting up a board, some cards, and some little plastic things that sortof looked like pyramids with balls on top.

"Monopoly..." Lily said, no counting out what appeared to be fake money. "Muggle game. My mum sent it to me for christmas and I've never played..."

"Do you want to play?" Mary asked them. Lily waved her arms madly and indescretely, begging her to take the question back...

"Sure, why the hell not," Sirius said, pulling his chair closer to the table. "Better than jumping out the window..." He ignored the alarmed glances this time.

"I've played before but..."

"Great, you can be our teacher. Teach us of your ways, oh great Moony, and we will become Monploy masters like you," James told him, his voice bursting with sarcastic tones and joking.

"It's Monoply not Monploy dumbass," Sirius said.

"Actually it Monopoly so both of you shut up."

"Okay, so you all have money, you all have a player..."

Sirius was prodding his with his wand. "Why don't they move?"

"It's a muggle game, I told you. Okay, Remus, what next?"

"Erm... okay, Lily... your the green player right?"

"Awe man, I wanted green!"

"Suck it up."

"But I wanted green..."

"Shut up Prongs, you only wanted green because its the color of Lily's eyes."

"And her underwear," James said, grinning devilishly. Lily blushed and pulled up her pants and then pulled down her sweater so it stretched to the floor.

"Prat," she mumbled.

"Okay, anyways," Remus said loudly. "Lily's green and she's going to go first. Roll the dice.

"A three and a six, that means you move nine."

"Nine? Why wouldn't she just move three and then six and... ooh."

"So she moves nine and lands on Conneticut. Do you want to buy it?"

"Of course she doesn't," James scoffed. "Who would want to buy Conneticut? I went there on vacation once and it sucks ass. I want New York, now thats a keeper..."

"I'll take it."

"Because you want it or because James doesn't like it?"

"Both."

"Prongs, no, it's Peter's turn..."

"Sorry Pete, forgot you were there."

"James..."

"YES. TWO TWOs! I ROCK. OH YEAH. What do I get for two twos?"

"Erm... nothing, except moving four places and rolling again."

"One, two, three, four..."

"No, four is there James, not on the train..."

"Damn, two hundred dollars?"

"Or 10..."

"Oh god, Moony, you know I'm too lazy to do math... oh yeah, two threes. Do I roll again? Oh wait.. I'm in jail, fuck, what did I do?"

"You're not in jail, your just visiting. and you get to go again because you got doubles again..."

"Ooh, I'm on a roll I think... two sixes! Oh yeah, that's right, uh huh... ooh what does this question mark mean?"

Remus was leafing through the instructions. He looked up. "Doubles again?" he asked, obviously trying not to laugh. "That's not good mate... three doubles and you get to go to jail. For real this time."

"No way. The United States is an unfair country... sending me to jail for doubles? And no trial..."

"Oh just shut up, Potter. Your turn has lasted way too long," Lily said. "Mary, go."

"I bet you liked it when I rolled those dice. You love to see me shake it." James wiggled his eyebrows and Lily looked away disgustedly.

"Oh god Potter, get over yourself."

"Easy. But what's not easy is getting over you."

"Want me to make it easier?" she asked, wiggling her wand.

"I love when you're angry at me. It makes you look at me with such intensity..."

"That intensity is hate, Potter, and I really do hate you..."

"No you don't."

"Yes I do."

"No you don't."

"Yes I do."

"Lily..."

"Stop that, I'm winning. Yes I do. That's right, that's one more "yes I do" than your "no you dont's"."

"Lily its your turn," Mary said, rolling her eyes.

"Already? Oh fine..."

And so the game went on, for an extremely long time as Monopoly often does. Until...

"MONOPOLY!"

"What?"

"Monopoly! I win."

"You don't say monopoly when you win, dumbass," Sirius snorted.

"How do you know, smartass?" James retaliated.

"It sounds gay."

"Yeah yeah, fine. Either way I win."

"Er... James?" Lily said.

"What?"

"You have to have the most money to win, not the least. You have nothing left."

James grinned.

"You lose."

He kept grinning.

"You frickin' LOSE James!"

He grinned wider.

"Why are you still smiling?" Lily cried exasperatedly.

"Because you called me James."

**AN:** The first of many I'm going to write in one day. The author's notes won't have anything to do with your reviews because I'm writing them all at once. You can still make suggestions but I might not get to using them. Review for me? And accept my apology for leaving and coming back?


	11. Chivalry

**AN:** I felt so bad about quitting on you guys that I thought I'd make up for it with two updates in one day. Review for my efforts?

**Chivalry**

**Rating:** T

"Should be fun eh?"

"Yeah, considering we're not caught."

"Always the level headed one Moony. We could pass for eighteen any day..."

"At a muggle club. This is run by wizards, James. They'll see right through us..."

"Chill Loopy, I've got connections," Sirius said cockily. "I've got an.. er.. old friend who works there."

"Old flame perhaps? One night stand?"

Sirius grinned. "I don't kiss and tell. Either way, we'll get in, don't worry. Who're you guys bringing anyways?"

"Bringing? Who said anything abut bringing anybody?" Peter suddenly looked worried.

"You don't have to, but Jamesy... I would've thought you'd be jumping right on Lily. What'd she say last week? That you'd matured over holidays? This is your chance man, there's booze and music..."

James thought for a minute. "Yeah, okay. But I'll bring it up to her as though we're going out as friends. Starting off slow, you know?"

"James Potter, the gentleman?"

"Hey, shut up man, I can be chivalrous if I want to."

"Chivalry's dead, baby," Sirius said, leaning back. "But if you must try to bring it back to life, your chance just walked in and she's wearing a mini skirt. All good intentions aside mate, I think you'd have a good chance if you got her drunk. That skirt would slip off like that." He snapped his fingers for emphasis, but James shook his head, smiling slightly at his friends bluntness.

"Oi, Ev- er, Lily!"

She turned around and smiled. "Hey Potter. I mean, James, I guess."

"Old habits die hard."

She smiled.

"Hey... speaking of old habits, do you want to.. er... I hate to put it this way but do you want to go out saturday night? Sirius, Remus, Pete and I are going to Hogsmeade for a party and I wanted to know if you wanted to come. As friends."

"I dunno. I'm not really a party girl."

"Coulda fooled me," James said, raising his eyebrows at her short skirt and miles of exposed leg.

"My face is up here asshole. I can always change my mind about you and go back to hating you..."

"No no," he said hastily. "Being friends is cool. But I mean, considering all you did for six years is insult me and reject me, we don't really know eachother that well, which is why I want you to come with me on saturday. As friends."

"I... yeah, okay."

"Oooh, Lily the rebel? You do know this is breaking about seventy rules, including the law. Right?"

"Yeah, sure."

"What has gotten into you?"

She smiled and shrugged. "I figure I can't go all through seventh year without having a little fun. But after saturday its all books and revision for me, got it?"

He grinned back and nodded. "See you at eight?"

She nodded. "Eight."

James wasted no time in running over to his friends, performing a sort of dance that resembled a mix between the sprinkler and the do-si-do, and singing 'she said yes, she said yes'.

He stopped suddenly, wide-eyed as he noticed Lily peeking around the corner of the girls' staircase. She raised an eyebrow. "I saw that. And I really hope you don't dance like that all the time.. I might be embarassed to be seen with you."

He awkwardly ran his fingers through his hair and smiled, more of a grimace than a smile. He gave her a tiny wave and she turned and went up the stairs, her eyebrow still cocked precariously high.

"And she's giving you a chance," Remus commented, shaking his head and wearing an amused expression.

"I must be doing something right."

---

Saturday night couldn't have rolled around slower, but by the time it came James was so excited he barely ate his dinner. Alcohol plus music so loud you'd swear your ears might fall off plus Lily Evans equaled happy James. Very happy.

He waited with Remus, Peter, Sirius and Sirius' date Emily from the sixth year, tapping his toe impatiently and running his hand through his hair nervously.

"Cut it out," Remus suggested. "Do you remember that that was one of the things she stated on her 'things I hate about James Potter' list?"

"Vaguely," he said, but he stuck his hand in his pocket instead.

When Lily came down the stairs his jaw dropped before he shut it and realised she really didn't look that different from normal, except that she had put on more makeup and she looked more.. confident.

"You look great," he said, eyeing her up and down, resting on her low cut top...

She lifted his chin. "Friends, remember?"

"Friends can enjoy other friends body's if they want to."

"Come on Mr Smooth, lets get going. Curfews not 'til nine so we should be okay until we get to the one-eyed witch... did you bring the cloak in case?"

James shook his head. "I didn't want to bring a bag or anything. It'll be fine. Who knows, we might not even be back 'til morning." He grinned devilishly.

"What have I got myself into?" Lily wondered aloud.

"The best night of your school life," James proclaimed, and they set off.

---

Walking into the club the first thing James noticed was the bar set up across the room, with twenty barstools lined up and four scantily clad baristas serving drinks. The second thing he noticed was the intensity of the music pounding in his ears. The third thing was how amazing Lily looked under the flashing colours and blacklight. Her red hair seemed to shine and her emerald eyes reflected the spectrum of colors wonderfully.

Forget best night of his school life. James was sure it was going to be the best night of his entire fucking life.

"C'mon Lily, want something to drink?" he offered.

"Don't think so, Romeo, I think I'll stay sober this time."

"This time? C'mon Lils, I bet you've never consumed alcohol in your life."

"I've had butterbeer," she defended.

"That has the lowest percentage of alcohol avaliable to mankind. They sell it to first years. Come on. One drink."

"Let's have some fun before we get wasted, okay? Dance?"

He sighed and looked at her. Considering this was the first chance he had ever had with her, he figured he'd better not screw it up. "Alright," he said, and they walked out onto the crowded dance floor.

Damn, James decided. Lily Evans wasn't as squeaky clean as her image. And man, could she dance. Even though he could see dozens of guys eyeing her, looking from her lowcut jeans to her lowcut top, never even stopping at her face, he only felt a little jealousy. He felt it was evened out by the many female club-goers looking him up and down. He shot them a sexy smile over Lily's shoulder once and awhile, but stayed focused on the one girl he wanted most. But a guy could flirt, couldn't he?

"Ready for that drink now?" he asked.

She looked at him for a minute and then nodded. "Alright, one drink."

The walked over to the bar and took two stools. James flagged over a barista, something that wasn't hard to do considering there were three of them and all of them seemed to be fighting to serve him first. He knew his good looks would do him some good one day.

"What d'you want?"

"Hmm, yeah, because I'm so experience in this area," she laughed.

He laughed. "Okay, so they've got stuff like firewhiskey, and butterbeer but I'm forbidding you to get that, and then they've got fancy stuff like daquiri's and cosmopolitians."

"Not that I know what that is..."

"Right. Two firewhiskeys," he said, placing some coins on the bar. "I'm paying."

"Ooh, Mr Chivalry, are we?"

He popped the cap on his bottle.

"Chivalry's dead, baby," he said, and took a deep swig.

---

**AN:** And that, my friends, would be a cliffhanger. What, you thought that was the end? I really like this one for some reason, fun to write. I might keep it to two parts, maybe three. We'll see how it goes. I'll put the next part up within the next couple of days. And I'll make sure to update as much as I can, promise.


	12. Firewhiskey

**AN:** Incase you didn't get the message, this is **a sequel to Chivalry**. Mmkay?

**Firewhiskey**

**Rating:** T

_The walked over to the bar and took two stools. James flagged over a barista, something that wasn't hard to do considering there were three of them and all of them seemed to be fighting to serve him first. He knew his good looks would do him some good one day._

_"What d'you want?"_

_"Hmm, yeah, because I'm so experienced in this area," she laughed._

_He laughed. "Okay, so they've got stuff like firewhiskey, and butterbeer but I'm forbidding you to get that, and then they've got fancy stuff like daquiri's and cosmopolitians."_

_"Not that I know what that is..."_

_"Right. Two firewhiskeys," he said, placing some coins on the bar. "I'm paying."_

_"Ooh, Mr Chivalry, are we?"_

_He popped the cap on his bottle._

_"Chivalry's dead, baby," he said, and took a deep swig._

Lily smiled and took a little sip. She looked thoughtful for a moment then nodded. "I like it. It feels good."

"You mean when it warms your throat?" he took another deep drink. "Yeah, it's pretty awesome."

"I daresay you've had a little too much of this stuff in your lifetime."

"I daresay you're accusing me of something," he said, faking shock and offense. She gave him a little smile over the top of her bottle. Within ten minutes they had both drained their bottles.

"Another?" he offered.

"You still buying?" she asked.

"Only for you, baby."

"Stop calling me that, James, we're friends."

"Right. Another firewhiskey, friend?"

"Sure. But only one, that's it."

"Your wish is my command."

He ordered them two more firewhiskeys, promising himself he'd keep an eye on her. Two would be her limit. She hadn't wanted to get drunk.

Halfway through the bottle she said, "There's a lot of girls here."

"Yeah, and you're one of them. And also the only one here I want to be with."

"You're sweet," she giggled. "Can I have another one?"

"Whooa, slow down," James said. "I think two's enough for you."

"I feel fine," she insisted. "It's having no effect on me. C'mon James, one more."

He wasn't so sure about it having no effect on her. "I bet that last bit you downed so fast hasn't even sunk in yet. I don't think you should have anymore Lily."

"You're fine."

"Yeah, I also hold the record for most bottles consumed without passing out. Sirius is the only one who's ever come close to me. I'd have to have ten or more of these before I got too drunk. Come on, let's go dance again, shall we?"

"Alright," she said, and allowed him to lead her back to the dance floor.

"Hey, there's Sirius," he said. "Let's go say hi, we haven't seen him all night."

He grabbed her elbow, not wanting to put their 'friendship' deal on edge by grabbing her hand, and led her over across the room to where Sirius was chatting with a number of different girls. Emily didn't look too dissappointed, she was off dancing nearby with a man who looked much older and much more drunk. It wasn't until he pulled out of the crowd that he noticed her elbow was no longer cupped in his hand.

"Fuck," he mumbled.

"What's up mate?" Sirius asked.

"I just lost Lily," he said, shaking his head.

"She'll be fine, she's a strong girl."

"She's had two firewhiskeys and she's never consumed any booze before. Enough said?"

"So she's a little off her rocker, she'll be fine. Stay and talk awhile, won't you? I've got some friends."

"So I see," James said. More for the sake of Sirius than himself, he hung around for a bit, talking with the four girls he had rangled and laughing with his friend. Like they always used to, before James had become more mature and landed... "Lily," he said suddenly. "I gotta go." The girls looked disappointed. He heard Sirius mutter 'he's got a saving people thing' distinctly as he walked away. Lily was nowhere to be found along the walls, as he had expected to find her. Like she had said, she wasn't a party girl and being in a club alone would probably scare the hell out of her. Unless...

He finally found her, way to close to some older guy, dancing provocatively at the edge of the dancefloor. The guy ran his hands up and down her hips and her sides, feeling her chest. James felt a surge of jealousy that had been threatening to burst ever since he saw the first guy at the door eye her up. The guy grabbed her waist and gripped her tightly, pulling on her hair and dancing lower and closer with every beat...

"Ow, stop!" she cried, her hair wild and her eyes glassy. "No, stop, you're - you're hurting me..."

"Am I hurting you bitch? Am I hurting you now, you whore?" He tugged harder on her hair and squeezed her side.

"No, stop..."

"Cut it out," James said, fully aware that the man was much bigger than he was.

"What did you say?"

"I said cut it out. Leave her alone, stop hurting her."

"I'm not hurting her. Am I you little bitch? I'm not hurting you one bit."

Lily just whimpered and James pushed the man away roughly. "She didn't do anything to you, back off."

The man shrugged and sneered. "Whatever. Like I need to waste my time with sluts like that..."

James shook his head. He wasn't going to start a fight, not infront of Lily when she had thought him so much more mature...

Then he turned back to Lily who was now dancing with someone else. "Sorry..." he said to the guy, a boy smaller than himself that had probably snuck in, too. The guy shrugged and let her go and James dragged her to the side.

"How many more did you drink?" he asked her.

"Oh, a few. Two, or three. Or four." Her speech was slurred and she was swaying on the spot. He put his hand around her waist to steady her.

"How did you pay for so many drinks?"

"I had enough for one, and then some nice guy bought me some more..."

"Some nice guy? You mean the bastard who had his hands all over you?"

"Maybe," she said, giggling unnaturally. James sighed.

"C'mon," he said, "Let's get you back to the castle, okay?"

"No, I don't wanna go!" she protested.

"Well then, I'm going to have to carry you," he told her, and swung her up into his arms. Halfway along the passage she fell asleep in his arms, her eyes closed peacefully. He got up to the Gryffindor common room. Where to go now? He couldn't leave her in the common room for people to see her, she wouldn't thank him for that... he couldn't get into the girls dorms... he finally adjusted her weight in his arms and carried her up the spiral staircase to his dorm and laid her on his bed.

He wondered if he should take off her clothes? Sleeping in your clothes, after all, was very uncomfortable. He compromised by deciding to take off only her jeans and shoes. As he pulled her jeans off over her legs, and slipped off her shoes she opened her eyes and giggled. He realised he was in a bad position, his head right above hers and one leg overtop of her, taking off her jeans..

"I'm sorry Lily, I..."

"Kiss me, James."

"What?"

"I want you to kiss me," she said.

"You're drunk, Lily. You don't know what you want."

"I want you to kiss me," she repeated, pulling his head close to her until their lips touched, then she sucked him into a powerful, passionate kiss that he was surprised she could manage so well in her state. He never wanted it to end, her hand on his back, his hand in her tangled hair, the taste of firewhiskey on her tongue and her hand pulling off his shirt, unzipping his jeans...

He grabbed her hand. "No. Stop. You can't do this. I can't do this to you."

"Can't do what?" she asked, pouting. He lifted himself off her and looked into her eyes.

"I won't take advantage of you like this," he said firmly. He pulled the blankets overtop of her. He kissed her forhead lightly, but she was already asleep. "I love you," he said quietly, and he was sure he saw her smile.

**AN:** This isn't exactly the fluffy airy end to a story like all my other fics were, but I wanted to finish it off. It's not the best, I don't actaully really like it that much, but ah well. Dun dun dun. Sort of the end. I might throw in another bit that goes along with it later on. Review lovelys?

By the way, the next five stories or so have been written in a period of two days. I went crazy. I want to have lots to have going so that if I don't have time to write new ones I can keep putting some up for you. See how much i love you?


	13. Wall

**AN:** I got the idea from when I was listening to 'walls fall down' by beduin soundclash... sorry if that's spelled wrong, I have no clue how to spell it. This might start out very OoC and random. Please bear with me, it's not as weird as it seems. Read til the end, yah?

**Wall**

**Rating:** K

James stared straight ahead. What a very boring lesson it was, how could he possibly pay attention?

Well now, there was something to make a class more interesting. Lily Evans happened to be building a material brick wall in between them, laying each brick herself and wedging them together with concrete.

"Okay, what are you doing?" he asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Er, building a wall."

"You're right, that's exactly what I'm doing. Not as dumb as you look now, are you Potter?"

"That's neither a compliment nor an insult."

She flashed him a humorless, sarcastic smile. "Smart things are just pouring out of your mouth today. Maybe I should build up walls while you're doing your exams? Maybe the bricks provoke hidden intelligence in you?"

"So er... sorry if this is a stupid question or something, but why are you building a wall?"

"To block you out of course. Just let me finish laying down this brick and then we'll talk, okay?"

"Yeah, I kinda don't see the point in talking to you through a brick wall."

"Perfect. That's my point."

"Okay, this is getting insane. I know you hate me or whatever but so does Snape and he's never tried to build a wall around me to lock me away. You planning on covering my other sides too? And maybe sealing the roof?"

"Of course not," she said, her voice sounding distant. "I just need to seperate you from me, that's all."

"Why?"

"Because I am determined to hate you and when I set my mind on something I always go through with it. Having you there was distracting, so I have to block you out."

"I'm sorry this is just so ridiculous."

"Ridiculous is it?"

"Oh yeah."

"You know what else is ridiculous?"

"What?"

"The fact that you've been talking to yourself for the last five minutes."

He looked up and lifted his head off his desk. Sirius was standing over him and it was apparent the bell had rung. He looked around but... no wall.

"I didn't think it was that boring, I mean, Sirius didn't even fall asleep," Remus said.

"I fell asleep?"

"Yeah, and you were muttering the whole time. Something about bricks. But come on, I don't want to spend my break in a classroom..."

"Hang on... Lily!"

She turned her head just as she was leaving. "What, Potter?"

"Will you go out with me?"

"Not in your lifetime, Potter," she snarled.

Okay, he was wrong. The wall was most definately still there.

**AN:** So didja get that? Sorry if it was confusing. The wall thing was a metaphor. Hope it didn't confuse you too much?

jk/gh: Glad you don't hate me anymore. Thats a good thing to hear :)


	14. Lilly

**AN:** Not really a songfic, but it's inspired by the lyrics from 'must have done something right' by relient k. So I put those lyrics at the beginning. Obviously I don't own them or Harry Potter. Blah blah blah. I don't bother putting disclaimers, usually, because it's so obvious I don't own any of this stuff. But hey, they deserve some credit.

School in 5 days. Ugh. Don't want to go. So I'll get as much updating and writing as I can in those 5 days, except im a little busy so it might not be that much.

PS. You guys amaze me. I come on once and I have 75 reviews, and I come on half an hour later and i have 85, and a little later i have 88. I LOVE YOU. You guys rock. Thanks tons, it means alot to me.

jk: 'OC' means 'other character' and 'OoC' means 'out of character' like as in they have a different personality than what the author gave them :)

**Lil(l)y**

**Rating:** K

_If anyone could make me a better person, you could.  
All that I can say is I must have done something good.  
You came along one day and you rearranged my life  
All that I can say is I must have dont something right._

Winter was coming fast and cold was enveloping the castle fast. The evenings brutally cold and flakes of snow started to fall, yet by the morning they were usually gone. One one such evening James looked out of his dormitory window to see a lone figure with flaming red hair walking by the lake, wearing only a light cloak. It was as good a time as any to make the first try of the year.

He didn't know why he had waited so long to ask her out this year... for some reason he just thought he'd give it a rest for awhile. She was probably happy, thinking he had forgotten about her...

He pulled on his cloak and grabbed his heavier winter cloak and draped it over his arm. He dug in his trunk, found what he was looking for an pocketed it, then he left the Gryffindor tower.

"What are you doing out here alone?" he asked the red headed girl. She shrugged.

"I like to take walks, clear my head."

"In the freezing cold?"

"It is a little colder than I thought it would be," she admitted.

"Look, I wanted to talk to you..." She shivered compulsively and he remembered the winter cloak he had brought along. "Here, I brought this out. Thought you might be cold."

She smiled. "Well you thought right, I guess."

"Anyways... Lily, I know you've probably been thinking all this time that I'd forgotten about you, that I'd never ask you out again. You've probably been jumping for joy every night. Potter's finally left you alone. But... hey, I just realised something, are we actually having civilized conversation. What's up with you?"

"Seeing as it's the first proper conversation we've had all year, you have yet to set the standard for yourself this year."

He nodded. "Fair enough. In other words, I have yet to make an ass of myself."

"Basically."

He laughed. "Okay. And maybe I'm doing just that right now but it's worth it to get what I have to say off my chest. All these years I've been mooning after you, trying to get your attention, and I realise, I've been doing it in all the wrong ways. How was it that I thought, for six years, that doing stupid things and being the big man on campus would get you to fall for me?"

She was looking at him with interest, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"But this year I started to realise that everything I was doing for your attention was totally wrong. I've just been too pigheaded to see it." He pulled a white lilly from inside his cloak. "This lilly represents everything I feel for you. Pun intended, by the way."

She laughed quietly.

"To me, this lilly is beautiful and young and fresh. Just like you, Lily Evans. To me you are beautiful in every possible way. Beautiful in the way you look, in the way you walk, in the way you laugh, in the way you smile. Beautiful in the way that you put others before yourself, even me. Beautiful in the way that whenever someone needs your help you're always there for them. Beautiful in the way that you're an amazing person, and amazing girl." He handed her the lilly.

"It's... it's so gorgeous, James," she said.

"Everlasting, an everlasting lilly. Everlasting like my love for you. I love you Lily."

She just looked at him for a minute, though it seemed an eternity to James. Then he was surprised to see little tears beading in the corners of her emerald eyes and he risked everything he just said by reaching over and brushing one of them away. She didn't, as he had grown to expect, push his hand away.

"You don't mean that."

"Don't mean what?"

"Mean you love me."

"Of course I do," he said. "I've always loved you Lily."

She shook her head and sat down. He hesitated before sitting down beside her. "Whats up?" he asked awkwardly.

"It's just... all these years I've been looking at the James you chose to display to the world. I never looked any deeper than that. The fact that you've truly loved me... I just thought it was an obsession, a fascination. That once you got me you'd just let me go. You never showed any sincerity infront of anyone else. I've been awful to you."

"I know," he said, at loss for anything else to say. He struggled to find something, anything to say to her. Finally he said, "But it's not your fault you didn't see any of that. I chose not to let any of that show... I didn't... and I've been awful to you too. A two-sided thing."

She smiled suddenly. It was a small, watery smile but a smile all the same. "You didn't want anyone to see the real you."

"Why are you crying, Lily?"

"I don't know. I'm being stupid. Hopeless romantic... you're sweet... and I just.. I've been so blind... you've, you've been so stupid!"

He didn't say anything, but noticed the sudden, small bit of anger that she put into the last four words. They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes. After a while of just staring into the lake, she said, "You've changed James."

"You've changed me," he replied.

"No, I take that back," she said. "You haven't changed at all. This is the same you that's always been there. But it's the you you've kept locked up inside you."

"Do you like the new me?"

She smiled playfully and stood up, laying his cloak on his knees. "I'll get back to you," she said.


	15. Cupboard

**AN:** This used to be it's own story so you've probably read it, but I thought it fit in okay with these and for all of you who havent read it already... enjoy! 

**Revelations From the Broom Cupboard**

**Rating:** T

"Damn you Sirius Black!" Lily shouted, pounding on the door.

James leaned back, casually as was possible, agains the wall, foot resting on an overturned bucket. Most of the space was devoted to a few brooms, a good many cobwebs and for some strange reason a number of sappy romance novels that James assumed the caretaker had been looking at for a bit of light reading (when he looked closer at them later he realized that the novels were quite graphic, and he pocketed one to give to Sirius as a reward).

There was no answer from Sirius Black, most likely because James' specific instructions had been to lock them in and run away, as fast as he could, just incase Lily decided to blow the door open. Coveniently, Sirius had managed to steal her wand, but all the same, James thought the fiery look in her eyes might be enough to set fire to the entire castle.

"I had nothing to do with it!" James said, holding his hands in the air, the light from the tip of his wand further illuminating the spidery corners of the tiny room.

She sighed.

"I've known you too long to believe that, Potter."

"Okay, good, we're getting somewhere..."

"What do you mean getting somewhere? We're locked in a bloody broom cupboard!"

"With our relationship, I mean."

"Relationship? What relationship?" She was in hysterics now. "Our relationship is as non-existant as your humility!"

"Our relationship is growing... slowly."

"Too bad it wasn't growing as fast as your ego."

"You so want me."

"Give me a break, Potter."

"You think im seeexxxyyy..." he climbed onto her lap. "You wanna looooove me, you wanna hooollld mee..."

She pulled a revolted face and stood up very quickly, causing him to fall to the ground, his head landing nicely in a bucket and his foot hitting the romance novels on the way down.

"You should read some of those," he said, sitting up and wincing. "You really know how to kill a mood."

"The only mood you're getting from me is disgust, Potter," she growled.

"I love it when you're mad at me."

"If only I had my wand..."

"You would use it to express your undying love for me by use of charms and pretty words..."

"I would use it to curse..."

"... which would dance around our heads..."

"...your..."

"...watching us make sweet love to the beat of the music..."

"...balls off."

"But Lily dearest, that wouldn't do at all... the pretty words would have no love-making, angsty teenagers to dance around."

"Good!"

"Maybe I should become gay, Sirius is easier to please than you..."

"Maybe you should. That way I could be free of my one and hopefully my only stalker, you would finally be with someone who would sleep with you and someone who could match your ego."

"Sirius wouldn't..."

"Oh please, he'd screw Severus if he asked," she spat.

James couldn't deny the inevitable truth in these words... well, he could deny the Snape part, that was ridiculous, but he _had_ caught Sirius and Lydia at it a few days before...

"Speaking of screwing..."

"Oh, god..."

"I was going to say there's a screw sticking out of the wall and about to skewer your head, but who knows, maybe it would pierce the part of your brain that doesn't want my sexiness."

"You'd have to take out my whole brain for that to work out, Potter, and I think its about time you let me out..."

"No, don't think so."

"Why? It's obvious you're not getting any closer to getting in my pants..."

"You haven't fallen deeply and madly in love with me yet," he said simply.

"If you were deeply and madly in love with me I don't think you'd have locked me in a closet."

James didn't answer to that, and he could almost see the fire in her emerald eyes die a bit...

"Oh my god, you love me!"

"Well I have been telling you that for six years, but if it's taken that long to sink in..."

"You've been telling me it for six years, sure, but I thought it was more of a crazy, stalkerish obsession but..."

"Honestly, that's what it was at first... but now... Lily, you're beautiful, inside and out, and I mean it, I love it even when you're mad at me. Everything about you is gorgeous. I wouldn't have wasted six years of my life going after you if I didn't mean it."

She smiled. "All this from the guy who locked me in a broom cupboard?

He nodded sheepishly. "Look, I'm sorry... I'll let you out now..."

"Thanks," she said. He unlocked the door. "What you said was great, James, really, but..." She kissed him softly on the lips. "I'm not used to this not creepy, not arrogant, not self-absorbed you yet, okay?"

James watched her go, then followed her out, brushing the dust off his clothes. Sirius came around the corner just as she turned and James' slightly humble face broke into a grin.

"One step closer to getting Lily in the sack by the look on your face?"

James laughed and high-fived his expectant friend.

"I dunno, I'd say closer to getting into her heart."

Then he walked away, humming to himself.

Sirius called after him, "If she confunded you mate, she's got some mad skill."

James just stuck up his hand, waved, and kept walking.

"I even had her wand!"

He shook his head, mumbling to himself, and took off after his friend.


	16. Patronus

To _you_:

100 REVIEWS!_ 100 REVIEWS!_ **100 REVIEWS!**

Well, almost, anyways. 99. Whoever the 100th reviewer is, I want you to pick a topic for me to write, however random, and I'll make it work, dedicated to you. You guys are **amazing**. my goal for this entire fic was 200 reviews when I started out, but if by now I already have 100, I'm going to fly past that goal. Seriously you guys, this means alot to me, especially when some of you have been with me since I started this. Thanks guys!!

Peace & love, touchtheskyx  
**xoxox**

**---**

**Patronus**

**Rating:** K+/T ish.

"Hey, Lily."

"Hi, James," Lily replied absently.

"Are you sick?"

"That's a real nice thing to say," she said huffily. "Do I look sick?"

"No. No. Noooooo," he said emphatically. "You look amazing. Amazingly hott. Amazingly I-want-to-strip-that-skirt-right-off-you sexy in fact..."

"Okay, Potter, too far."

"Come on, back to Potter? You called me James before... I like it so much better, especially when you say it," he wiggled his eyebrows. She walked ahead but he sped up, falling into step with her. "That was the reason I thought you might be sick... maybe it was like a 24 second flu or something."

"You say the stupidest things sometimes," Lily said, looking at him and laughing. "Theres no such thing as a 24 second flu."

"Could be."

"Whatever."

"Can I walk you to class?"

"What are we doing now then, sipping tequilas under an umbrella in Cabos?"

"No, but that sounds good," James said, grinning his usual lopsided smile. "Would you be wearing a bikini?"

"Maybe," she said wryly, watching him look her up and down, obviously imagining her wearing that bikini. "Cut it out, you perv. I might have to take back my permission for you to walk me to class."

"You never gave me that permission, you just put evil images of beaches and bodies into my head. You are a truly evil person, Lily Evans."

"You always know what to say, Potter," she said, flashing him a falsely sweet smile.

"I do," he said as they turned into the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. As they took seats, Lily at the front, James behind her, James leaned forward and said, "You know what I just realised? We just had a totally civilized conversation. Are mine ears decieving me?"

"Am I the one your surprised is being civilized, or are you referring to yourself?"

"I was talking about you actually... or maybe Sirius, he usually butts in by now."

"Someone call my name?"

"Unfortunately," Lily said.

Sirius pouted. "Love you too Evans."

"Can't say the same."

"Since when are you talking to Jamesy more than me?"

"Since he was more mature than you," Lily replied without thinking. Then she looked shocked with what she said and busied herself with organizing her papers as the bell rang and the teacher walked in.

"I would have to say that I am growing on you," James said. "Or are you really sick? First you call me James, then you call me mature?"

"I didn't call you mature, I just said you were more mature than Black, which isn't saying much considering..."

"Miss Evans, if you please," the professor said. Lily turned pink: she was never singled out in class for talking. She shot James a dirty look. "Today we will be doing patronuses. The key to producing a simple patronus is..."

"Easy," James said to Sirius, who nodded. He looked at Lily who looked like she might be sick for real.

"Okay, go ahead and try it out now."

Lily didn't move, she just sat in her desk while the rest of the class eagerly jumped up to find their patronus form.

"Miss Evans, what is wrong with you today?"

"Sorry, professor, I'm just..." she looked at James. "I'm not feeling well."

"No excuse, Miss Evans. Get going."

"Come on Lily, are you seriously telling me I can do a patronus and you can't?"

"Of course I can, Potter," she said defensively.

"Show me," he said challengingly, watching his stag prance around the room with as much pride and arrogance as James had himself.

Lily shook her head.

"You can't do one, can you?"

"Of course I can!" she said angrily.

"Prove it."

Lily sighed. There was no way she would back down from a challenge, and James knew it.

"Expecto Patronum!" she said, then immediately closed her eyes. She didn't want to look, it was to awful for her. She opened her eyes just as it had faded away and she saw the last tiny spot. She looked frantically around the room. Nobody but James seemed to have been watching her, and as soon as she was brave enough to catch his eye he winked but didn't say anything. Her face reddened and she determinedly looked away, feeling sure the end of class couldn't come fast enough.

---

"Hey," James said, sitting down beside her on the couch in the common room.

"Hey," she said not looking at him.

"I did see your patronus you know."

"Well, no shit sherlock," she said.

"Why are you so emabarassed by it?"

"I dunno, not something I would tell you."

"Come on. What happened to civilized conversation between two mature people?"

She sighed. "It changed. My patronus was something else before... but..."

"When'd it change?"

"Couple weeks ago. I like to cast it everyonce and awhile... it makes me feel safe."

James nodded. She kept her eyes away from him and he put his arm around her shoulder. She flinched.

"You know, my stag thinks your doe is sexy."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

"I can make you feel better," he said seductively and she groaned.

"Just leave me alone, okay?" she said, standing up. He watched her walk away, thinking that there could be nothing more impossible to figure out than girls."


	17. Corridor

**Corridor**

**Rating:** K+

I walked down the corridor that was to be the last bit of my nightly patrol. The corridor was empty except for me and the usual suits of armour, and silent except for the faint mutterings of the creaking of the walls and the sound of her footsteps.

Okay, I know, stone walls don't creak.

"... so I think next week would be a good time, what do you say, Evans?"

"Thanks alot, Potter, you just ruined my fantasy."

"You were fantasizing? Does this fantasy happen to include yours truly and you in your underwear?"

"Oh God," I said, rolling my eyes. "I was fantasizing that you talking was really just the walls creaking and that I was the only one in this corridor."

"Walls don't creak."

Thank you, Einstein.

"I've already established that, thanks," I said coolly.

"You're welcome," he replied. Whether he was missing the point completely or simply meant to drive me insane I couldn't tell. I had always been leaning towards the latter, but who knows, he could just be really dense.

"Can you let me get back to my fantasy world now, please?"

"Alright, but this time can you make me talking something more logical? Like... creaking of armour or Peeves breaking something. You know, something that makes a little bit more sense."

"Alright, Potter, only one more corridor to go and I want to enjoy it."

The suits of armor along the walls creaked every once and awhile as I walked slowly down the corridor, pausing every once and awhile to listen by the doors to make sure there was nobody awake that shouldn't be. Finally I reached the end of the corridor and the Gryffindor common room portrait, when one of the knights grabbed me and pressed its lips on mine.

Okay, scratch that, suits of armor don't have lips.

Therefor, my fantasy was ruined, yet again, by the startling realization that James Potter was kissing me. I didn't know what to do, so I just stood there, frozen as the armor that I had accused of taking my breath away.

Excuse me while I rid myself of the enjoyment I am getting out of this kiss.

After what seemed like an eternity he pulled away and I watched as he walked through the portrait hole. I didn't even hear him say the password, but then again, suits of armor don't talk, do they?

----

**AN**: Okay, not super great, maybe a little confusing. Oh well. It gets harder to write new things when I've already let out 16 ideas, you know?

**COCONUT-DREAMER:** You were my 100th review (yay yay yay yay) so pick a topic, any topic. It will be dedicated to you, my friend. Thanks alot, to all of you!!


	18. Sunshine

**AN:** I feel like I'm losing my touch. I really liked the first few but they don't seem as good anymore... I'll keep trying though, for you, to come up with one.

**ibelieveintruelove:** thanks for reviewing all my stories, plus 3 chapters (and counting) of this one, in a row! it makes me smile : )

**coconut-dreamer:** sorry I still haven't gotten to one of yours. I will though! I promise :)

**Sunshine**

**Rating:** K

"You are my sunshine..."

Lily looked out on the yard of her - their - new yard from the window seat, slowly sipping a cup of hot chocolate. The morning sun was just barely coming over the mountains and was casting an orangey glow on the little street at Godric's Hollow.

"My only sunshine..."

The way it hit each leaf on each bush in the yard, clung to each blade of grass, hugged each dewdrop, Lily found it breathtaking. Since they had moved in it had been her routine every morning to sit at the big window in her bedroom.

"You make me happy when skies are grey..."

Alright, so they had only been there for two mornings, this being the second, but it was her plan to spend every morning exactly as she was. It put her at peace. The morning, she felt, was the only time where she could really feel like the world was still a happy place.

"You'll never know dear, how much I love you..."

As she looked out the sun started to shrink behind a rolling cloud. As forboding as the imposing cloud was, Lily couldn't help finding this beautiful as well, the way the light hit the cloud and made it look as soft as cotton candy, and even fluffier. She also couldn't help relating the situation to her current... why was it that even in her most peaceful place, thoughts of the most unpeaceful sort seemed to intrude upon her thoughts? Thoughts of terror and chaos... thoughts of the people walking by the two-story in Godric's Hollow not even knowing anybody lived there.

"So please don't take my sunshine away."

"If I had a choice, the sunshine would never go away," James said, coming up behind her and wiping away the tear she didn't even realize had fallen.

"What and we could all live in a land of rainbows and unicorns?" she said, smiling sadly.

"Maybe someday," he said, smiling back.

She looked into he deep hazel eyes, comforting smile. This time she spoke to him... "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine..."

**AN:** Light and very fluffy. And short. And hopefully sweet?


	19. Over Her

**AN:** Yayy, it's songfic time! I love songfics. Maybe you don't, but too bad, haha. This song reminded me of Lily and James so I thought I'd stick it in here, mostly for kicks. Review anyways? PS: I wasn't sure if I should bleep out the swear words in the song... it seemed like alot of swearing to me, but I left them in but gave the fic a higher rating for it. Sorry if I offend anyone. PPS: If you want to listen to the song to get a better feel for it, the song is One & Only by Timbaland and Fall Out Boy (aka a freakin sweet song!!)

---

**Over Her**

James played with his quill in his hand, reading the same word over and over again and not really processing it. He had the exam in the bag for two reasons: one, he was awesome at transifuaration, two, he was almost done and there was tons of time left, and three, he had gotten over Lily so she couldn't distract him. First O ever, here comes James Potter.

_I'm head over heels for someone  
That I really can't deal with  
I wanna block her from my mind  
But I really can't do it_

He glanced across the room and watched her write, her hand perfectly poised, her hair pulled back in a perfect ponytail with a perfect hair tie, capped off with perfectly placed clips to hold back the rest of her hair...

But she was bad for him. She didn't like him, she was brutally evil to him... he'd just have to find someone else to obsess over, someone who loved him and wanted to have his babies...

Who was he kidding, he wasn't over her.

_I tell myself this the last time  
I'm gon' let her do this to me_

He forced himself to focus back on his paper. He was going to get an O, and that was that. His mind was clear, he was awesome, tons of time...

He snuck one more glance across the room and found his eyes locked as though someone had taped his eyes open and put blinders on the sides of his head - nothing else in the room mattered except for the red-haired angel complete with wings, a faint glow and complimentary devil horns.

Even if it was just in his fantasy world, Lily Evans looked sexy with wings.

_Whenever we do spend time I realize  
That I can't get enough of you._

He caught sight of Sirius sitting on her opposite side, watching James with an amused expression. He raised his eyebrows and James gave him a very clear 'oh, shut up' look. He had, after all, told everyone that morning that his obsession with Lily Evans was over. Nobody, Sirius least of all, believed him.

Way to throw wood on the fire, James, he thought to himself. Sirius grinned idiotically.

_Wipe that smile off your fucking face,  
(Then I say to you)  
Wipe that smile off your face.  
(Then I say to you)  
Wipe that smile off your fucking face,  
(Then I say to you)  
Wipe that smile off your face._

James rolled his eyes and forced them back to his paper. Certain words popped out at him from the paper... 'hate' stood out as though it were written in sparkly pink ink. Wait, no, it said 'have'. 'What spells hate you learned that would be helpful in this situation' didn't make sense anyways. He told himself that deducting such a sensible thing meant that he was getting back to normal. Normal being how he was before he met the angel-devil in red... but did she really hate him as she often said?

People threw 'hate' around as easily as 'love', right? Girl friends said they loved eachother all the time, so did that mean they were lesbains? No. She couldn't possibly _hate_ him. What was there to hate? He was perfectly loveable, right?

_To be despised, to be loved.  
To be dreamt of, to be sought._

He told himself endlessly that he shouldn't care what people thought of him... it was just so hard.

_On the inside I don't care  
Right in the middle,  
I'm right in the middle_

Especially when the person who hated him was the person he loved. Love? Strong word if you remember, thrown around at random. James Potter didn't love. Or so he told himself and the many girls who had already asked him out after hearing he was done with Lily.

Okay, so maybe some people believed him.

_To be despised, to be loved.  
To be dreamt of, to be sought.  
On the inside I don't care_

He had turned them all down of course, knowing that he was lying to himself as much as he would be lying to them if he went out with them and told them he loved them...

Fuck, Lily, can't you just go out with me and put me out of my misery?

_Be my unholy, my one and my lonely._

It was quite ego degrading for James to hear 'no' everytime she opened her mouth. Even if he insisted he wasn't going to ask her that question, she had a habit of saying 'no' before he even got a chance to say anything. He felt like his entire identity had to be hidden away and locked inside him (he himself swallowed the key) so that nobody would see the real him, the real, sensitive him, who secretly hurt everytime she turned him down.

_I wear scarves and hoods cause it's the only poker face that I've got left  
And everything I love about you is a mess_

The bell rang and he groaned, coming back to his senses and looking down at his paper - he hadn't finished. Goodbye O. He squeezed his paper in his hand tightly, crinkling it. He couldn't kid himself anymore. He wasn't over Lily Evans, he didn't care that she was evil, he just wanted her. He wanted her to want him. He wanted in her pants.

He figured he might want to make her get over the 'I hate you' part before he took a stab at that last want.

_Smash the mirror and break the palm reader's hands  
I want to be better than I am._

He passed her as he left, being sure to lightly brush her shoulder as he went past. She didn't even flinch. He turned back hopefully, but she didn't seem to have noticed he had gone by.

_To be despised, to be loved.  
To be dreamt of, to be sought.  
On the inside of I don't care  
Right in the middle,  
I'm right in the middle  
To be despised, to be loved.  
To be dreamt of, to be sought.  
On the inside of I don't care  
Be my unholy, my one and my lonely._

**AN:** Mmkay, not super good or anything, but that's what I thought of when I heard the song so I put it out there. Thanks guys, love yah. Do you know how exciting it is to get 30 reviews in a day and a half? Pretty exciting. THANK YOU!

**ibelieveintruelove:** I'm pretty sure you only missed reviewing one chapter. Wow. I love getting opinions, especailly so many at once. Thank you so much!

**PS.** I just put up a new oneshot. It's Lily/James kinda, but mostly just about the marauders so it didn't really fit. Plus it was too long to put on here. It's called Fatal Attractiong, so go check it out, please, and review! Thanks guys.


	20. Cheese

**Cheese**

**Rating:** K+

"Heres... the... last.. one," James puffed as he lifted the last shopping bag onto the counter.

"Finally," Lily snapped. "It's not that heavy, you know, I do it all the time!"

"And I don't know why you couldn't do it today," James said. "I'm terrible at shopping, you know that."

"Yeah I do..."

She unpacked the groceries in silent for a few minutes, while he watched her. Then...

"Gouda! Gouda?!!"

"Umm... yes, dear, the cheese..."

"I told you to buy havarti. Ha-var-ti. Is that so hard?"

"Well, no, I suppose I just forgot..."

"HAVARTI. GOUDA. They are so far from eachother it's not even funny. I think all these nights you're spending working are going to your head, you're hardly ever home anymore."

"Yeah, and then the one time I am home you send me to do the food shopping!" he said, staring at his wife incredulously.

She fell silent and continued to unpack.

"Lily, what's really wrong?" James asked calmly.

She didn't answer right away, but when she did her voice was quiet. "I'm pregnant."

"What?" he asked. "What... Lily that's great!" he exclaimed, scooping her in his arms and spinning her around. He let her down and looked in her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I... I didn't think you wanted a kid, James... with everything that's going on..."

"I want whatever you want," he said.

"I want havarti," she said smiling.

"Well then...I..." He took one look at her expentent face and sighed, "I guess I'm going back to get some."

---

**AN:** So, I wanna ask you all something, just to see, could you tell me your top 3 favorite stories so far, and if you want a reason why your favorite is your favorite? It'd just be cool to know which ones you like best. I'll write them down here, just to remind you:

Forks, Cherry Lipgloss, 10 Things, Duck, Distraction, Water, Bushes, Papercut, Bubblegum, Monopoly, Chivalry, Firewhiskey, Wall, Lilly, Cupboard, Patronus, Corridor, Sunshine, Over Her, and this one, Cheese.

So lemme know which ones you like best. And maybe one you didn't like so much? Just wanna know what you think. Thanks guys!

**jk:** Sorry for the false alarm thing. I added a story and decided I didn't like it very much and I took it away right away. Here's a real fic, that I'm going to leave on here. Sorry.


	21. Fireworks

**AN:** I put little bits of a song in this but it's notI'm not basing the fic on the song, I just got inspiration from the song. Doesn't matter if you know the song, but if you want to, it's called Fireworks by the Plain White T's. Lyrics are in italics. They're not in order, just snippets here and there.

**Fireworks**

**Rating:** K+

_We'll see fireworks tonight.  
_**  
Twenty Minutes**

Twenty minutes left of the year. Twenty minutes until there were chances for everyone to get a fresh start. 20 minutes and, it was said, the tone would be set for the rest of your life.

Unfortunately, the sort of tones James wanted were forbidden to him: Lily's soft tone of voice when she talked to him, the tone of her body...

'I will not think about Lily, Lily's body, Lily's voice... Lily's lips... Lily's hips...'

He shook himself as he continued to scan the common room. It was full to bursting with Gryffindor students, plus students from other houses that had been invited. The exception being the Slytherins, of course.

**Fifteen Minutes**

He spotted her across the room, talking to her friend Mary MacDonald. She gave him a quick little wave and he smiled at her as his insides squirmed.

So they were friends now. So she had stopped calling him 'Potter' and he had stopped calling her 'Evans'. She had also told him days before that she wanted them to stay friends, that she wanted him to promise not to try and make a move on her anymore... a promise that it had almost physically hurt him to make.

But getting that far, getting her to stop hating him, even that seemed like an accomplishment.

Or would to any sane person.

To James Potter it just wasn't enough.

But she meant more to him than that, more to him than his personal wants... needs.

**Ten Minutes.**

He settled himself on a couch and watched her, talking, laughing with her friends. Sirius came up and handed him a butterbeer.

"Cheers and cheer up mate, it's almost midnight."

He shrugged. "Big deal."

"Big deal? You've been talking about his moment for months!"

"That's when I thought that I would be kissing Lily and that supposedy that would mean something for the rest of the year..."

"And why can't that happen now."

"I promised Sirius."

"Promises are made to be broken, Prongs," he said, raising his bottle and setting off on his annual mission to find a new beautiful girl to kiss.

**Five Minutes.**

Made to be broken... isn't everything made to be broken?

Even if its not... everything gets broken sometime.

**Four Minutes.**

Hearts, lives, bodies, buildings...

**Three Minutes.**

Promises.

**Two Minutes.**

People were getting antsy, friends splitting up to pair off... he watched her scan the room and his heart thumped painfully against his chest. He imagined her finding some other guy, a git no doubt...

**One Minute.**

The Lily in his head was making out with some tall movie-star-handsom guy... who the hell was he to go make out with his girl?

His girl.

Like a posession.

She deserved better.

**Forty Seconds.**

She stood in the middle of the room, glancing around until her eyes fell on his. She held his gaze for only a few seconds before blushing and turning away...

He lept off the couch.

Screw promises.

**Twenty Seconds.**

He squeezed his way through the crowd, knocking over an eager third year and her half-full butterbeer bottle.

**Ten Seconds.**

People started to cheer and count.

Nine... the middle of the room seemed miles away... eight... the sea of people seemed to close in on him... seven... he barely noticed Sirius shooting him a quick knowing glance before turning to his pick of the night... six... damn first years, why did they have to get in the way? five... four... three... he lost his footing on a curled up rug... two... he grabbed her shoulder and she spun around...

"James..."

One.

He pressed his lips on hers before she could utter another word, held her close and savored the moment he had waited for for so long... the cheering seemed to be worlds away, the kissing couples didn't matter anymore...

He pulled back only when the cheering died down and the room merely buzzed with the sounds of people talking...

"I'm sorry, Lily, I..."

She put her finger on his lips, wound her fingers between his and led him to the window where the two watched enchanted fireworks shoot up over the grounds.

He squeezed her hand, and wondered if there was anything for him to say...

She smiled and the upturned corners of her mouth silently answered everything he wanted to know.

_'Cause I know you know it can't get much better  
Fireworks flyin' whenever we're together  
I know you know that I know you love me_

_I just wanna feel you tonight  
Making sure the moment's just right  
I could die just staring in your eyes  
I just wanna feel your heartbeat  
Hold you even closer to me_

_We'll see fireworks tonight._

**AN:** Sorry it took so long to update. I've been working lots, plus school, so I haven't had time.

So so far, here are the tally's of peoples favorites:

Cherry Lipgloss: 5

10 Things: 3

Papercut: 2

Bubblegum:1

Chivalry/Firewhiskey: 5

Patronus: 6

Cheese: 2

Bushes: 2

Duck: 2

Corridor: 1

Monopoly: 2

Distraction:1

Wall:1

More because I wanted to know how many people liked which ones than because I thought you'd want to know :P But incase you care, there's the numbers.

Thanks guys.


	22. Chess

**AN:** Okay, so I'm planning on starting a new story following Teddy Lupin and his journey through Hogwarts and such. But **I need your help** before I get going, to figure some things out, so I would love your opinion!

1) Teddy lives with the Potters, correct? Either way, he does in my story.

2) Who is Victoire? Harry's daughter? Ron's daughter? **Who is she?**

3) According to my timeline, if Lily and James died in 1981 then Harry was born in 1980, starting school in 1991 and finishing in 1998. Teddy was born in 1998, which means he starts school in 2009, right?

4) If 19 years later from 1998 is 2017, that's when Albus Potter starts school. Meaning Teddy would have been 18 when Albus started. That was when he was kissing Victoire, who I still don't know who she is.

5) If Albus starts school in 2017, he was born in 2006. James was born in 2004 and Lily was born in 2008. When Teddy starts schol, then, Lily is 1, Albus is 3, James is 5. Right?

6) Teddy was born approximately Feburary. In my fic, Febuary 19th, 1998. If that's way off, lemme know.

Thanks to anyone who helps me out with getting these timelines right. I'll have the first chapter of that story up soon, so make sure you check it out!

Now, finally, on to a very rushed, very short Lily/James ficlet.

**Chess**

**Rating:** K+

"Hey Lily."

She ignored him.

"Hey Lily."

She ignored him.

"Hey Lily."

Her ignorance prevailed.

"Hey Lily."

With an irritable jerk she glared at him. "What, Potter?"

"Wanna play chess?"

"No... I... wait..." she smiled slightly but forced it away. "I suppose."

He beamed. "Great. But just to let you know, I've never lost a game before. Being beat by you would be like, the downfall of me. But considering the last time we played I had all my players and you didn't have any..."

"Do you want me to play or not?"

"Yeah, yeah," he said quickly.

He sat opposite her at the coffee table and they started to play. They moved back and forth, every once and awhile taking one of the other's players, James taking Lily's more often than not. Okay, he took hers every single time.

Frustrated, she decided it was time to put her plan in action.

"What do you say we make a little wager?" she asked, making her voice and soft and seductive as she could without being to obvious.

"Er... sure, I guess," he said smiling. "But you better have the money, Lils, cause you're going nowhere fast..."

"Ten galleons," she said.

His eyes widened. "You're on."

They took a couple more turns each and Lily started to rub his leg with her hand. His eyes widened again in shock then he forced himself to look relaxed and grinned. "Come around, have you?"

She smiled a small, sexy smile at him and he stammered, "Castle to E-e-e-5."

The castle moved to the designated spot and Lily smiled to herself. "Pawn to E5," she said, watching the tiny pawn beat down his castle. He bit his lip and looked at her, so locked her eyes on his for a moment. Not daring to look away he said "Bishop to D-d-6."

Lily took his bishop as well, marvelling her own talent. He didn't seem to notice, probably more concerned with her leg running up and down his, when he stuttered a placement to his pawn.

Unable to hide her broad grin any longer, Lily moved her bishop to his King's place - James looked at her and down at the board speechlessly.

She held out her hand and he dropped the coins into her palm as she stood up and walked away.

"You tricked me, didn't you? You distracted me! I call a rematch!"

She shot him one last fake, seductive smile, gave him a sarcastic wave, jingled the coins in her pocket and left through the portrait hole.


	23. Icecream

**AN**: Well coconut-dreamer, here's your request. Sorry it took so long. It took two days of being at home sick for me to get some inspiration. Sorry if it's not super good or anything. I have a killer headache. So basically, this one's dedicated to coconut-dreamer (for being my 100th reviewer!)

**Icecream**

**Rating**: K+

"She officially hates me."

"Since when has she not officially hated you?"

"Always the enlightener," I told my ex-best friend.

"You were a bit of an arse," he pointed out.

"Thanks." _Official_ ex-bestfriend. As of now.

"You're welcome, Jamsie-poo," he said, in a sickening singsong voice. "You do realized you just screwed up the best thing that ever happened to you, right?"

I rolled my eyes. Leave it to my best mate - no, ex-best mate if you remember - to show me the bright side of things.

"Once again, thanks."

"Once again, you're welcome."

I gave him the deathstare. The famous don't-mess-with-me-unless-you-have-high-medical-insurance-or-a-five-hundred-pound-body-guard-Potter-death-stare.

He cringed.

"Look, mate, I'm sorry, but I really don't see it as my fault that the first thing you do once you get Lily to agree to go out with you is make out with some other girl..."

"I didn't make out with her, she made out with me!"

"Oh, and I'm supposed to believe that she like, put a bodybind curse on you and started making out with you against your will?"

"YES!" I shouted. "That's exactly what you're supposed to believe and that's exactly what happened!"

"Shut the hell up, mate you're delirious."

"I am not delirious! Emilia has had the hots for me since grade two!"

"I don't know how you got such a good alibi, mate but it apparently just walked into your open arms. Or into your _body-binded_ arms, huh, huh?"

"You're hilarious."

"I know, right?"

"What am I going to do Pads?"

"Just talk to her, mate, she'll understand..."

"Oh yeah? Will she believe me just like you did?" I demanded.

"Maybe. Just give her a chance, okay? She must have more faith in you than I thought, to go out with you. Maybe she'll give you a chance at this too."

And that, my friends, is why I keep this fellow around.

---

At breakfast the next day I settled down at the table beside her, knowing full well that I could be hurting for awhile if she was mad enough. When I thought she was safe I said, "Lily flower, can I talk to you?"

"I hate that name, and you know it Potter."

"And I hate that name. Why pull out the old weapons on a new battlefield?"

"Who the hell talks like that?" she asked, staring furiously, definently into my eyes.

"I... I don't know," I admitted. Apparently I do when I'm flustered. AKA - when I'm talking to Lily Evans.

"What do you want, James?" she sighed. I only just noticed that her eyes were puffy and swollen - the knot in the pit of my stomach hardened.

"I want... I want to apologize."

"A bit to late for that, isn't it?" she put a pancake on her plate, cut into it and lifted the fork up to her mouth. She stopped before it reached it though, and put her fork back down. "I trusted you James. I gave you a chance."

"I know, I know... but... life is like icecream."

"Icecream?"

"Yeah," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. I had no clue where I was going with the cold product from an udder deal. "I mean... okay I'm the icecream."

"Are you referring to your icy heart or you or the bitter coldness that took over your body yesterday?"

"Who's the cold one now? Let me finish my story now, please..."

"Look, I have to get to class, where is this whole frozen dairy product thing going?"

Props to you Evans. 'Frozen dairy product things' seems alot more impressive than 'cold product from an udder deal'.

"It's going... okay, say I'm the icecream, alright? And you... you're the chocolate sauce."

"Is this some perverted sex joke?"

I looked at her pointedly. She looked slightly amused. "Icecream seems okay by itself, until you try it with the chocolate sauce. Then it's like you can't have it without the chocolate sauce. I can't live without you Lily."

"James..."

"Be my chocolate sauce, Lily?"

**AN**: There you have it. Nothing more than Lily/James fluff. Hope you liked it though. By the way, check out my new fic, Of Full Moons and Nighttime Wanderings. It's one of my only non-Lily and James fics that I've ever written. Hope you like it though. Give me a review?


	24. Denial

**AN:** Sorry it took so long for an update. School and such. I wanted to throw in a bit of something different into this one, it's fun to experiment. Hope you like it.

**I Solemnly Swear I Am Up To No Good:** My _new_ C2. Check it out. It doesn't have alot going right now, but I'm working on it. If you have a story you think should go in there or want me to check out one of yours, tell me in a review or have a look at the forum under the same name. Also, if you're interested in being part of the staff, say so in a review. Don't send me a PM, I wont get it! Thanks guys.

**The Definition of Denial**

**Rating:** K+

**de-ni-al **_n. _Disblief in the reality or existance of a thing. Refusal to recognize or acknowledge.

_ie._ I am most definately not in denial. He is not in love with me, and I am most definately not in love with him. End of story.

Okay, not quite. If it was that easy to get rid of him I would have done so six years ago. Or possibly more, then I could be rid of him before he ever became arrogant, conceited, self-absorbed, clingy, obessive... all of which fall under the category of

**an-noy-ing** _adj._ Causing vexation or irritation; troublesome.

_ie._ James Potter. I'm positive that if I opened a thesaurus, and looked up annoying his name would be in there, bolded and underlined. Following him would be a certain Sirius Black, and he's a very close second.

"Oi! Evans!"

That would be me. _Lily_ Evans. Not Evans. Not love, flower or sweetheart. "Lily."

"No, flower, I think you're delirious, that would be you, not me."

If there's one thing I learned, its to ignore him. It works everytime : he gets bored, loses interest in chasing someone who won't give him the time of day and he moves on to someone else. Unfortunately, he's like a lost puppy and comes wandering back given a space of time.

More often than not, this space of time barely exceeded ten minutes.

He really doesn't seem to realize how much I hate him.

**hate** _n._ To dislike intensely or passionately.

**pas-sion** _n._ Any compelling emotion or feeling.

_ie._ The only time passion and James Potter fall into the same category is if 'hate' or 'kill' are the said emotion/feeling.

He put his arm on my wrist and looked into my green eyes with his hazel. As concieted as he may be, James Potter did have wonderful eyes. The kind of eyes that you could get lost in and never find your way out.

"Lily?"

I was so shocked that he used my actual name that I found my way out of his eye labyrinth. Not that I was lost... no, I knew the way out the whole time. Sometimes I think he traps me there, purposely, so he can take advantage of me...

he was grinning. "If I didn't know better I'd say you were staring at me with a look less intense than your usual hatred."

"I don't hate you, I dislike you intensely and passionately," I said absently. Stupid Potter, luring me into his stupid eye trap... not that I fell for his lure, no, I wasn't staring at all, merely looking off into space contemplating my deep hatred for him...

**de-ni-al **_n. _Disblief in the reality or existance of a thing. Refusal to recognize or acknowledge.

He laughed. "Okay, Evans, whatever you say. But can whatever you say to this next question be 'yes'?"

"No."

"You haven't even heard the question."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay Potter, what's the question?"

If he was going to ask the question I thought, no, knew, he was going to ask, then it was a new record. It had been a month since he'd last asked...

"Will you go out with me?"

How predictable.

**pre-dic-ta-ble** _adj._ Capable of being fortold.

_ie._ My (also very predictable) answer: "No."

He shrugged. "Okay. How about you help me with my charms homework then?"

I rolled my eyes again. I seemed to do that often in his presence. "No, Potter..."

"Come on, Lily," he said, his voice slightly pleading. "It's just a bit of tutoring, no date. Give me a chance."

"I've given you loads of chances over the years, Potter, and they've all blown up in my, rather your, face."

"I've changed. I'm trying so hard here, Lily, and you won't even give me the chance to show you how far I've come."

**change** _v._ To become different, altered or modified.

_ie._ The way James seems to have gotten slightly less full of himself, stopped jinxing people in the halls and dropped the rediculous ruffling of his gorgeous - yet totally hideous - hair.

"I..." For the first time since he had performed a tongue tying curse on me in second year, I was tongue-tied, lost for words. It suddenly dawned on me that maybe, just maybe, he really had changed - a little - since sixth year.

"Lily, I'm trying to change. For you, it's all for you." He had resumed the ruffling of his hair signaling that he was incedibly nervous seeing as that was the only time he picked back up on that unfortunate habit. James Potter, nervous? Never.

"James..." Oh no. Oh no I didn't, I did not just...

A grin flitted across his face. "You just called me James."

"Yeah, so what?" I said, trying to come off as if it was no big deal. His grin didn't fade. It wasn't his usual cocky grin, it was a genuine smile, a lopsided expression where one side of his mouth was turned up more than the other. Damn damn damn you Lily Evans, first his eyes, then his name, then his smile?

"I love you, Lily," he said suddenly.

"Huh, what?" I said stupidly.

"I love you. I always have. It's not an obsession or a fetish... you're amazing, even when you're mad at me, that hard blazing look in your eyes... come to think of it, especially then."

For the second time I was speechless. What do you say to someone who has just declared their undying love for you?

**love** _n._ A profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. Sexual passion or desire.

_ie._ How James feels about me. _Me_. Minus the sexual desire part.. I hope.

I said the only thing I could think of to say. "When do you want me to help you with that homework?" He beamed and I smiled a tiny, awkward smile.

**de-ni-al **_n. _Disblief in the reality or existance of a thing. Refusal to recognize or acknowledge.

_ie._ I am not in denial about like James Potter. There is nothing to deny. I am most definately not in compliance to any such term.

Okay, maybe just a little bit.


	25. Fairytale

**AN: **Here goes story 25. I'm running out of inspirations. But I'll make sure and make it to 50, for all you who take the time to read this stuff. If you're reading and not reviewing, please, review, for me? It'd make my day to see some new faces (not that I don't love all of you who are reviewing everytime!), just so I can get some more opinions. Keep reading, keep reviewing, keep doing what your doing.

Lotsa love, touchtheskyx  
xx

**Fairytales**

**Rating:** K

Sometimes I wish my life was like the fairytales my mom used to read me. You know how it goes: The princess (likely beautiful, codependant, slightly ditzy, of noble parentage and therefor very rich and living in a castle)goes through a tradgedy (ideally something to do with stepmothers, needles, apples, spells or pirates) and her knight in shining armor comes to rescue her (preferably riding a white horse, bearing gifts or curing the said princess problems with a loving kiss). Then they ride off into the sunset (on said preferred white horse) and they live happily ever after. The end.

There are alot of problems with that pretaining to my life. Firstly, I'm not a princess. I'm not beautiful, I can fend for myself and my parents are muggles. Hardly noble in the wizarding world. I do, however live in a castle, so there's one point to my fairytale ending.

Make that half a point, considering the castle is old and creaky, the suits of armor try to trip you in the halls and the servants are elves.

The second problem is I haven't been through any major tragedies. I don't have an evil stepmother, or any stepmother at all, I am very careful around needles, apples make my face swell as I'm allergic to them, I happen to know a few spells myself, and I think there are laws in Britain outlawing pirates.

The third problem is the big one: no knight in shining armor. Every girl wants a guy to come and sweep her off her feet. The thing is, the only guy that wants to sweep me off my feet is James Potter, and if he touched even so much of me as my foot he would be recieving that foot in the gut. The closest thing he has to a white horse is a broomstick. The only thing he's given me that's even been close to a gift is a note he chucked at my head in sixth year asking me out. If he tried to kiss me the foot that I was planning on planting in his gut would be lowered to the general region of his manhood.

And the happily ever after? Considering the first three things aren't working for me, I'm sure the fourth is hopeless. Unless Potter suddenly desides to don leggings and a ruff, buy a white horse and adopt an attitude suitable to the heir of the thrown, it's hopeless.

I take that back, I don't want to see the leggings.

Like I said, hopeless.

**AN:** That was quite possibly the most pointless thing I've ever written. Not very good, but hopefully fluffy enough to earn me a review. Don't be to hard on me, school's melting my brain. Oh, and it was Lily narrating, if you didn't figure it out.


	26. Happily Ever After

**AN:** This part is a companion to Fairytale. This time, James' POV.** _ibelieveintruelove_, thanks for the idea!** Hopefully this one turns out okay.

**Happily Ever After**

**Rating:** K+

As lame as it sounds, sometimes I compare my life to the pathetic "fairytales" my mom used to read to me. She said it was a "cultural experience" to read the stories Muggles read... some cultural experience, they all start and end in the same way. The princess (incredibly hott, big boobs, long flowing perfect hair, gorgeous castle) goes through a tradgedy (which usually isn't that tragic) and her knight in shining armor comes to rescue her (also incredibly good looking, muscular, riding some white horse that looks like it would be more suitable for the princess). Then they ride off into the sunset (on the prissy white horse) and they live happily ever after. The end.

I'm so close to that happily ever after, it scares me.

I've got my princess: Lily Evans. She's got the incredibly hott, big boobs and long flowing perfect hair down pat, not to mention amazing legs and perfect eyes. The only flaw in the wonderfulness of it all is the castle bit, because Hogwarts is anything but beautiful. I suppose that with some slight remodeling (meaning new walls, new suits of armour, new floors because these ones seem to be breaking, new stairs, new rugs, chandeliers that don't fall on your head and hotter chicks... okay, maybe alot of remodeling) it wouldn't be so bad.

We've also got the knight in shining armor. Who, you ask? Duh, me. I've got the good looks thing down, no contest. I'm the closest thing to a prince at Hogwarts, I mean come on, I basically own the school with all my manly princeliness. Even some of the teachers bow down to me, and I've got the first to third years at my feet. The muscles are coming along, though the closest thing I have to a horse is my broomstick. Suppose I could turn it into a horse? A manly horse though, not some prissy white one with a rainbow mane and horn. Wait, that would be a unicorn... I wonder if Lily likes unicorns?

All I'm missing here is for the lovely shapely princess to have a tragedy, I go and comfort her, wake her up with a kiss, whatever, and she'll hop on the back of my manly horse and we'll ride off into the sunset with her legs and arms around me...

Happily ever after, here I come.

**AN:** This turned out okay, I guess. I like how his version of the fairytale is so much different than hers. Reeeeview?


	27. Wingman

**AlbusSeverusisGryffindor:** someone else gave me the handpuppets idea too, and I will get to it when I get a brilliant stroke of inspiration.

**AN:** I did delete the Teddy story. I wrote up til chapter 9 on my computer and it wasn't turning out the way I wanted, plus I have no time to update. Sorry guys. And sorry for taking so long to update. This is a fast, half hour update just to give you guys something. Sorry again, and thanks for all you guys who still bother to review!

**Special shoutouts to:**

_Jessiquie:_ For reviewing 4 chapters in a row :)

_coconut-dreamer:_ For being so patient for her request

_ibelieveintruelove:_ For not ruining her reviewing streak. i'll have to check, but I'm sure you've reviewed every chapter.

**Wingman**

**Rating:** K+/T

Looking forward to a quiet study time while most of the school was in Hogsmeade, Lily settled herself down by the fire in the common room. She opened her book (a particularily heavy one about the goblin revolution of 1970) and read for sometime before lifting her head to be face to face with someones denim crotch.

She jerked her head back quickly and looked up at the grinning face of Sirius Black. She groaned.

"Why aren't you in Hogsmeade with Potter buying dungbombs or whatever?"

"Because I want to talk to you and I knew you weren't going," he said.

"Because you've been spying on me again?"

"Because Peter's been spying on you again," Sirius corrected.

"Because you told him too! He's like your puppet..."

"Like a finger puppet? Because sticking my finger up his arse doesn't sound so appealling..."

"God your disgusting," Lily said, closing her book and getting off her chair which was difficult because Sirius was standing so close to her and she ended up bumping head on into his chest.

"Move," she said.

"Not until I've had my say."

"Potter sent you didn't he?"

"How dare you accuse me?" he said, with mock offense. "Can't I just talk to you because I want to?"

"You could, but considering you never do unless your teasing me or trying to make me go out with Potter it seems unlikely that I could actually have a civilized conversation with you." She tried to dodge him, thinking she might head to the library (Black was permanently banned from it and had to get others to get library books out for him). But he took one step over and was infront of her again. He was so much taller than her and so much bigger that no matter how many times she dodged, deked and side stepped, he was still right there.

She sighed. "Fine. What do you want?"

She fell back into her chair so she wouldn't have to stand so close to him, although he did smell good...

"I want to talk to you about James."

"I knew it!" she cried. "That's all you're ever here for..."

"But not on his orders. I came here on my own, he doesn't know, he thinks I have detention..."

She raised her eyebrows. "Do you?"

"Well, yeah, but that's not important."

"As if anything you have to say ever is," she said acidly.

"You're always the kind one, Evans," he said sarcastically. "But seriously, he's not himself lately. All he talks about is how beautiful you are (I totally agree with him on that one, and that skirt is working in your favor) or how nice and kind and helpful and sweet you are (those ones I have trouble seeing, but to each their own...)"

"So?"

"God damn it Lily, he's in love with you!" he yelled.

The few other people in the common room who had so far not paid them any mind turned to stare. Lily included.

"Back to your thumb twid-"

Several people gasped as Sirius fell stiffly over, pray to one of Lily's deadly, silent Full Body Bind curses.

"What did you say?" she said.

Sirius let out a string of inaudible sounds, which Lily actually thought was quite an accomplishment considering he couldnt move his lips.

"He doesn't love me, he just has an obsession, a stupid crush..."

"Mm Mmm," said Sirius, his eyes focused on her.

"Or not... how long could a crush last? I mean it's been like, years, six or something, but love? Since when does love mean jinxing me and pulling my hair? Then again in the past bit that's really been you and Peter, but you might have 'had your finger up his arse' on that one... damn, maybe he does love me? What the hell am I going to do?" She was getting quite hysterical. "He's been so much different lately and I've been to fucking blind to notice, and now I hear this from his wingman? What am I supposed to think, Black?"

Sirius rolled his eyes and gave a feeble "mm."

"And kind? When I've been nothing but a bitch to him... I suppose I could ease up on him a bit. It's not like I'll fall in love with him too or anything... after all, this is our last year and then I'll never see him again... yeah, thanks Black!"

Sirius rolled his eyes again but they widened as she stepped over him and left the common room.

"Mm... mm mm?"

Mental, he thought, staring at the ceiling.

---

**AN:** not much too it. Pretty sad. But hey, it's an update! More comin' at you in the near future I hope...


	28. Worry

**AN:** Another quickie. I feel like these are getting less and less interesting as the story goes on, but I'm running out of ideas! Help me out with some suggestions... I've already got a suggestion for finger puppets which is a really good idea, but if anybody has any ideas of how to portray that idea, they would be much welcome, as well as any new ideas. Thanks guys, and keep reviewing!

**Worry**

**Rating:** K+

"LILY HE'LL BE FINE!"

"Mary, I told you, you don't have to yell to use a telephone, you just have to talk clearly... what if he's not okay though?"

"Whatever, I still don't see why this is much better than talking through the floo network or owls..."

"Owls take forever and talking through a fire is uncomfortable. You don't have to use this for anything else, just to talk to me, I did give it to you..."

"And I appreciate it Lils, but seriously, go to bed, stop worrying. James will be fine, he's doing work for Dumbledore, Dumbledore wouldn't send him anywhere dangerous would he?"

"I suppose not..."

"Oh, don't sound so disbelieving. Promise me you'll go to sleep when I hang up, please?"

"I can't sleep, Mary!" she cried hysterically. "He hasn't sent me a message via patronus like he said he would, and he said he'd be back around 11.."

"And it's now 3, I know," Mary said exasperatedly. "But Lils, staying up worrying about him isn't going to make him come home any faster. He's a big boy, he can take care of himself."

"I... alright," Lily said resignedly. "Thanks for talking to me. Night."

"Go to sleep Lily," Mary said firmly, before hanging up the phone.

Lily hung up her own phone which she had bought in a set with Mary's for the sole purpose of talking to her bestfriend whenever she pleased. Mary, being pureblood, thought it an absurd way of communication.

Despite Mary's refrain of "go to bed" that was the last thing Lily felt like doing. She knew he could take care of himself, but he usually let her know if he was going to be late, or coming home at all...

She pulled a photo album off the shelf and settled down on her bed with it, opening it over her crossed legs. The entire first page was filled with a picture of her and James, beaming at her, her in her wedding dress and him in his tux...

She smiled weakly and touched his photo-face. His eyes twinkled and he seemed to smile comfortingly at her. It was hard for her to believe she had once hated him and was now reduced to staying up to all hours waiting for him to come home...

And if he didn't come home... she was expecting his child. The youngest Potter was due in 3 months...

The work he was doing for the order was too much for her. She helped too of course, but all the dangerous jobs were given to him, or Sirius, or Hagrid. She couldn't help but feeling like he was in over his head.

"Have a little more faith in me, Lily, I can handle anything He throws at me."

Still cocky as the day she met him. To think she had once hated his cockiness, and now it seemed a mere quirk...

She closed the photo album but slipped it under her pillow and then laid her head on it. There was no way she could fall asleep, but atleast if she rested she could tell Mary she had had a few hours...

Images of James being tortured flashed through her mind, images of him struggling against Voldemort and his supporters, images of his body being kicked roughly aside...

_He's fine, she told herself. Fine..._

_What if he's not though?_

_But he is. He always is._

_Maybe his luck's run out?_

_If luck could run out he would have run out of it at school during his undetected nightly escapades..._

_That was a joke. A prank. This is real life, a real battle..._

She blinked back tears.

_He's fine,_ she told herself again. _James will be fine_...

There was a loud crack from downstairs. Someone apparating, no doubt. But no one could apparate into their house, let alone find it, unless they had been told by Sirius, their secret keeper... surely an order member wouldn't come to call so late...

Footsteps up the stairs. Unless...

Lily wiped her eyes on the sheets just as James opened the door to their bedrom and walked in, looking dishevelled but smiling all the same.

"Hey, sweetie," he said as he came in, taking off his coat.

"Where have you been?" she demanded.

"It took a bit longer than I thought, I'm sorry. Hope you weren't waiting up for me?" He asked, grinning slyly but kissing her on the forhead as he climbed into bed beside her.

"No... I ... of course not..."


	29. Author's Note  PLEASE READ

**AN:** So, some of you are probably going to kill me. But I'm going to end this here. Not that I don't want to continue, and **I WILL keep writing Lily/James OneShots** and such, but I don't want to have them all together. I'll put them up as new, seperate stories. That way I'm free to use different styles and throw in a little more Marauders. So keep reading guys, and don't hate me forever. Add me to your Author Alert instead of story alert. I'm going to take my favorite stories from here and repost them as their own stories. That way, people who have never read them can, and people who have can pick which ones they like the best. I think it'll work better this way, especially with school and everything.

Love love love  
touchtheskyxx

**PS** please don't send me flames getting mad at me for doing this. I'm not quitting fanfiction. I'm not gonna stop writing. Make sure if you say anything at all you've read the whole authors note.


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